The Nymph's Blade
by Higure Hokousha
Summary: Larxene is dead,but when you fight the keyblade, death is not always the end. Watch as the Savage Nymph guides Sora to his true strength. SoKai ?LarxenexSora?
1. Prologue

**I don't own Kingdom Hearts.**

**Welcome to the newest incarnation of The Nymph's Blade. I hope you enjoy the revamped prologue. I believe that it better conveys the tone I am aiming for here.**

**For those new to the story, let me explain that Sora's going to very slightly OOC (probably less so than in the original). He's still the same person that you know from the games, mostly, but he's going to be smarter, and just slightly darker than in canon. Don't worry-he's not going to be dark and sadistic. He will, however, be willing to lie and deceive when necessary.**

**Pairings:**

**LarxeneXSora, SoKai, and RiKai will all appear, but I won't tell you which ones will come to fruition.**

**There is no Slash in this story.**

**Notation:**

"Talking"

'Sora thinking.'

"Larxene talking in Mindscape."

"**Larxene talking from mind."**

'**Larxene thinking.'**

* * *

I know naught but pain…

Clinging to existence by a thread is an unimaginable agony.

I know only a fragment of a fragment of a half-life.

I was there though.

I was there, killing Marluxia.

I was there as Axel sacrificed himself.

I was there as Xemnas died.

Yet I did little.

The Bearer knows not his true power.

With each life he took, he grew stronger.

With each life he took, he carried a fragment of what was taken.

The knowledge and abilities of all he has defeated at his fingertips, and he knows it not.

Now, here in Oblivion, I wait until I can return.

When I return, lightning shall strike with savage fury.

Where will it strike though? Where?

* * *

Sora stood at Coast of Darkness. He was speaking to Riku, they had just defeated Xemnas at last. "We'll be the Darkness…"

As he gazed out to sea contentedly he saw something floating to shore. He grabbed it, and found something…strange.

It was a knife, a kunai to be more precise.

As he grasped it, it glowed. There was a flash of light and when he looked back at the knife there was a keychain in its place. It was composed of eight miniature kunai, blades facing each other.

He touched the blades, and was surprised when electricity rushed through him. His hand came away bloody. Slightly confused, he shook it off and hesitantly placed the keychain on his keyblade.

It took on a flowing, curved shape, the blade bending in three places, the bit of the blade became a trio of kunai, and it seemed to course with electricity. The blood on the keychain glowed, and he felt his magical power being drained slightly. Lightning stuck in front of him, and where it struck, a black portal appeared.

He looked at Riku, who had been watching the whole time, "Did you-?"

Riku cut him off, "I can't use the Darkness anymore, remember?" The silver haired swordsman shrugged, "Still though, it can't be worse than being stuck here forever."

They went through together.

* * *

They stepped out of the portal on Destiny Islands, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy could be seen, looking out to sea, waiting for them.

Suddenly Sora fell to his knees, gasping. Riku could only watch as he collapsed. Riku got down on his knees, checking for a pulse. Sora's pulse was weak, but seemed to be stable.

He grabbed Sora, and dragged him to the others as he called out, "Kairi!"

Kairi and the other two turned around, faces lighting up in joy, and saw Sora. Kairi went pale and ran over, "Is he alright?"

"He's alive, but I don't know if he's alright. He just collapsed suddenly."

"Here, let's get him somewhere safe." They carried him to one of the small huts covering the island.

* * *

Sora stood in a familiar void.

The Station of Serenity was quiet, the platform he stood on depicting all of the different organization members. A door stood before him.

He approached it.

Before he could reach it, it opened, and an unfamiliar sight appeared. A woman in a black organization cloak stood before him.

The hood was thrown back revealing a delicate face with blond hair. Her hair was slicked back, and had a strange pair of lightning bolt-shaped strands standing up slightly.

A shadow of a memory flickered in his mind, but failed to become clear.

The woman spoke. "Hello Sora, it is wonderful to see you again." Sarcasm was dripping from every word, but there was a slight hint of emotion beneath it.

"You don't remember me though, do you? You don't remember the woman that you killed! You killed me!" She was yelling now, and Sora could only stand there shocked, a woman he didn't know was accusing him of killing her. It was impossible.

She continued her rant, "Because of that pest Namine, you can't even remember me! Well, now I can remedy that. Normally I'd just kill you, but I can't live if you die, so _instead_ I'm going to make _sure_ you survive…"

Suddenly she was behind him, whispering in his ear, "_…_and _someday _I _will _find a way back. _Then_, and _only_ then, will I kill you. I _promise_ you that it will be a _horrific_ death."

A sadistic smile was alight upon her face as she vanished, reappearing in front of the door.

Sora, having been in worse situations, regained his composure fairly quickly and asked the obvious question, "If I killed you, how are you talking to me?"

The woman laughed. It was an amused sound, but there was a mocking undertone.

"You're so _blind! _You just think you're weapon's a giant key?! You're wrong!"

She was suddenly right in his face, a snarl twisting her features, "THAT _**THING **__IS AN ABOMINATION!"_

With a flicker, she was standing back to back with him, "It doesn't just kill…no…that would be a mercy. It _cuts…out…your…heart."_

The last words were but a whisper as she twisted around in front of him and punctuated each word with a poke to the chest. A crazed grin had engulfed her expression.

Suddenly she was circling him, lecturing like some crazed school professor.

"…or at least a part of it. The Keyblade is designed to cleave off and absorb pieces of its victims essence-it's Heart, if it has one. Otherwise, well, it cleaves off a chunk of whatever serves in the Heart's place. Even I'm not sure what it that is.

Whatever you take away from your enemy becomes yours and is bound to your Keyblade. It is this which gives you your strength-not some abstract growth born of 'experience.' Your power is taken from every Heartless and Nobody that your _beloved _weapon has _devoured."_

She vanished from her place to his left, reappearing in front of him. Not in his face, but closer than he would like. Her face was calm, but he could swear she was on the verge of rage-or, perhaps...terror?

She spoke slowly and softly, a slight tremble to her voice, "…but it isn't that simple. The most stubborn beings can hold themselves together after being devoured. They can live on the edge of your blade, forever feeling the pain of death…unless, that is, you _awaken_ them."

Her voice grew hushed, but fervent and quick, "Then…then they come here. They become _part _of you. More importantly, they _come back._"

She was closer now. He could faintly feel her breath upon his face as she whispered the last word.

A word fell from his lips, "How?"

A smile graced her features, a pleased one. It looked almost sane-_almost, _"Now, you have asked the important question. It's simple; I came back because you _needed _me. You _wanted _to go home; you wanted it _so much_ that you called _me_ back to open a portal for you. All it took was your blood, and that Keychain-_my_ Keychain-the Savage Nymph."

Suddenly, she seemed calm. It was like the madness just drained out of her (not that that suggested sanity), "Here's the good news, though. I'm on your side-at least for now."

"I get to teach you how to use your Keyblade properly-how to control the beings you have imprisoned. Maybe someday, you'll even be able to summon us forth-wouldn't that be _fun?_"

Her tone suggested that _he _wouldn't think so. She continued cheerfully, enjoying some small payback, "Oh, and by the way…from now on, I'll be watching from in here-inside your mind. I'll explain the rest later; your friends are calling you, and I don't want to have to deal with them taking you for medical treatment or something, so _wake up!"_

Sora felt himself being thrust back into reality.

* * *

"Sora!"

'Riku?'

"Wake up, Sora!"

'Kairi!'

Sora opened his eyes to his friends sitting around him.

Kairi's face was red, as if she had been crying, but a smile was now visible.

Riku was smirking in his direction, acting like he hadn't been worried. The nail marks on the arms of his wooden chair told a different story.

Donald and Goofy were celebrating in their usual, noisy manner. It was touching, but also more than a little annoying.

"**So now the truth comes out! You just barely put up with them, don't you?"**

Sora blushed furiously.

"**Really, I'****ve been looking through a few of your memories. If I didn't know better, I might think you only joined them for their Gummi Ship. Am I right?**

'…maybe back then, it was. Now though, I trust them! They're my friends, my comrades!'

"**Uh huh."**

Shoving the topic aside, Sora switched to a more urgent topic, 'Forget that! Why the hell are you in my head! Who gave you the right to look at my memories anyway?!' \

"**I'm here because, as I said earlier, you **_**absorbed **_**me. I'm not just a spirit or something. I am, effectively, part of you-at least for the moment. Obviously, being you, I have the right to look at your memories."**

Sora just groaned.

Ignoring the woman, he spoke, "What happened?"

Riku answered, "Why don't you tell us? One second we arrived home; then you suddenly collapsed."

"Sorry, I don't really know. The last thing I remember is arriving on the beach."

"**So you can lie? Maybe you'****re not as pure as they think." **

'Well, what should I tell them? This entire series of events just sounds insane. I'm sure that would go over well, right? What's your name anyway? If you're going to be hanging around in my head, I can't keep thinking of you as just 'the woman.'

"**My name was Larxene, and I was number 12 in ****the organization."**


	2. Chapter 2

I don't own Kingdom Hearts

--

Sora was relaxing on the beach. The past two weeks had been fun, if frustrating. He met Larxene, then found out she was an Organization member. It had taken quite awhile for him to get past that, but she would tell him more about his keyblade tomorrow.

He just wished he could figure out how to build a gummi ship. Larxene could only offer her power occasionally right now, he just wasn't used to channeling her energy through his body, and dark portals weren't always safe for someone who has so little darkness within him. It was funny, ever since he left he'd been trying to return. Now that he was here, he couldn't stand it.

The island was wonderful, he could just lay here for years if he wanted to. The rest of it though, wasn't so pleasant. He was up to his neck in homework, and had in fact stopped doing it. Many of his old friends were long dead, consumed by the heartless. His parents seemed to think he couldn't take care of himself. He'd fought heartless, nobodies, and everything in between. He had saved worlds and dueled Sephiroth, and they still treated him like a child! He'd stopped going home after they tried to lock him in, not for punishment either, they just didn't think it was safe for him to be out. Not when "those weird black things" could "come back at any time." He'd had to blow a hole in the wall to leave. These days Kairi, Larxene, and Riku were his only relief. Riku had, like him, grown dissatisfied with the islands, and Kairi wanted to see her home town of Radiant Garden. Donald and Goofy had abandoned them here to rot, on orders from the King to "not disturb the worlds." Larxene and him got along well enough, at least when she forgot who had killed her. She wasn't exactly friendly, but she usually managed to either cheer him up with stories of the Organization, or else tick him off enough that he forgot his problems. They'd been working together for a while on how to synthesize gummi blocks. They still had no clue.

While he laid there, his head against the papau tree, he heard someone behind him. He saw Riku approaching as he turned around. Riku spoke, "Everything has come full circle hasn't it. We wanted to leave, and the heartless freed us, but once we were free, we all tried to get back. Now we're back, and we want to leave again."

"Yeah…but Riku, this time, I have no intention of ever coming back." "I don't either, but who knows, we may end up coming back anyway." Another voice spoke from behind them, "Hey guys, what is that in the water?" Sora turned around, "Kairi, how long have you been listening?" he asked, exasperated. "I just got here. What is that?" she asked, trying to direct his attention to the matter at hand. Sora walked over to the shoreline, finding a message in a bottle. "Hey, this is the King's seal." He ran back over and opened it.

_Sora,_

_Something is happening, the darkness is growing again, but I don't know who is causing it. The heartless are becoming too much for us, so we're calling for anyone who can help. I'm sorry to drag you from your home, but I have no choice. Donald and Goofy will be there to get you tomorrow._

_Mickey (The King)_

_P.S. I wouldn't turn down anyone else who might help so bring anyone you want!._

Riku and Kairi were reading over his shoulders. Sora smiled, looking at each of them. They decided to stay on the Island that night, so that they could leave together.

Sora woke up…or so he thought. He looked around and realized that he was back in the Station of Serenity. Larxene walked towards him with all the arrogance of a cat crossing a courtyard. "Alright Sora, since we leave today, I can't have you leave a complete weakling so we'll begin now." She took on a somewhat lecturing tone, "The keyblade absorbs a being's essence or a portion of it after killing the being. A complete essence can manifest as I have. A fragment provides only power, having no mind of its' own. An example is your so-called Anti-form, which is the embodiment of all the heartless you have killed. When a complete being is absorbed, it will manifest from exposure to darkness, which weakens the chains of light binding it, or

because of the presence of a strong emotional urge triggered by a person, place, or object. I was released by the first method, seeing as we were in the realm of darkness, and a keychain formed to represent my power. When you placed blood on the keychain and linked it to your keyblade, you released me by moving my essence from the keyblade to yourself. Others may be released in time.

"How do you know about anti-form, and why hasn't that happened yet? Something should have released someone!"

"Some may have been, but without blood they won't appear to you as I have. As for your so-called 'anti-form;' I've spent the past two weeks in your memories. I know almost everything you do. I left you early memories untouched, I only watched events after you obtained they keyblade. I don't care about anything before that. I only know of two other people you've definitely absorbed, but anyone strong willed could be there."

"Who do you know about? Besides that, does this mean I'll be stuck listening to whoever I free?"

"No, only me. I'm the one who will be teaching you, so I have full access to your mind. The others will be here, but they will only talk to you if you call them, only I can speak to you whenever you want. They will be in a sort of anti-chamber, they basically sit around, doing what they want, until you need to see them. Wielding their keyblade also calls them into your mind so they can help guide you to use it properly. First though, you must learn how to harness a being's power. We'll start simply. Draw your keybl--"

"Who are they!?"

"You'll find out once you free them, remember, I just have to keep you alive, I don't need to help you otherwise. Now summon the keyblade."

Sora called his keyblade to him, and it was in it newest form. The Savage Nymph glowed in his hand. Its' counterpart spoke to him, "Touch the kunai on the keychain, give it blood." Sora pressed his hand against it and blood poured out, the keychain glowed as the blood seemed to soak into it, electricity poured into his hand, he screamed from the pain of it. "Focus on the lightning, embrace the pain it brings, let it pour through you. You cannot force it to obey you, you have to take it into yourself and guide its' power." Sora slowly allowed it to flow unhindered, like blood flowed through his veins, until the pain disappeared altogether. He channeled it towards his hand, the electricity and magic forming sparks before his hand. Slowly, the energy gathered towards his palm. An electrical sphere, small, but real, formed in front of his open palm. "Now Sora, sense the electrical potential in your target, here. " She threw a kunai in front of him. "Try to sense the energy building up around it. Reach out with your magic, just magic, no lightning, and draw more in. Focus the electrical energy inside the kunai." Sora used his magic to strengthen and focus electrical energy in the kunai. "Now, reach out with your lightning towards the kunai and release it." Sora reached with his electricity towards the kunai, and felt the responding pull of the kunai's charge. Then he let go of his power, and the electricity jumped into the kunai, lighting the hall with the bolt's glow momentarily. He felt exhausted, falling to his knees. He looked at Larxene, she was smiling, and did he see a touch of… pride in her face. As he fell into blissful unconsciousness, Sora heard only three words. "Well done, Sora."

Sora awoke on the beach tired. He was hoping he wouldn't have to do that again soon(or ever). He wondered how Larxene could do it so effortlessly, he'd seen her perform the technique before(on a smaller scale) when she was particularly angry at him. "Hey Sora!" Well that was a welcome voice, even if a little annoying, bloody duck. 'He's my friend, I shouldn't think like that.; '**A friend who abandoned you because Riku had the keyblade, a friend who abandoned you here without hesitation at a certain mouse's command?' **'Well, he had to! I mean…' **'You mean what? They are friends, yes, but can they be trusted. If you ever oppose the King, who will they support?' **'Why would I oppose Mickey? We're on the same side!' **'When darkness is gone, people see the shades of grey. When you defeat the heartless, who is to say that Mickey might not decide that you're a shade too dark?' **'That won't happen! Mickey isn't like that!' **'We'll see…' **"Sora! We're heeerrree1" Donald yelled obnoxiously. 'Stop it!' "Hey Donald! It's so good to see you!" 'Why couldn't he have sent Leon?' "Shut up!" he shouted that last sentence at Larxene, who was laughing hysterically. Donald looked hurt, "Alright, Sora, I'll be quiet…" It was rather pitiful, and as

Larxene's laughter redoubled, Sora quickly apologized. "No Donald not you, it was, uh…I thought I heard Riku laughing?" Donald looked skeptical, but went along with it. "Alright then, let's go!" Once they reached the gummi ship(the default ship) they found Goofy, Kairi, and Riku waiting there. Riku smirked and yelled over "Your ready to go Sora?" Sora grinned, "Yeah!" They all got in the rather cramped ship. "Why didn't you use a larger ship?!"

Goofy grinned sheepishly, "Well, we only expected you!"

"Let's just go; are we going to Disney Castle?"

"No, Radiant Garden." Donald answered, sounding upset.

Kairi looked concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Disney Castle, well… **we lost it!"** Donald was near tears, thinking of his home being overwhelmed by heartless.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It isn't your fault, we just weren't strong enough."

"But--"

Riku interrupted her, "No Kairi, we couldn't have done anything; all we can do now is take it back."

Kairi only nodded, determination gleaming I her eyes. As they approached Radiant Garden, Sora could see a large amount of heartless near the Dark Depths. 'Not _another_ army!'

'**Looks like it, and because of that, we'll be training more tonight, understood?' **

Sora slumped resignedly, earning odd looks from the others. 'Alright…' They were dropped off near Merlin's house. Yuffie welcomed them enthusiastically, her normal cheerful self. He smiled at her behavior, following her inside. Leon welcomed them with a nod. Around him were several others: Cloud, Tifa, Cid, a figure wearing a blood red and black outfit with a large gun at his side, Merlin, and the King. The King spoke, "Alright now everybody, now that Sora's here, we can begin. As you are all aware there is a massive force of heartless heading our way. We have to stop them now! Others may join us later, but this will have to do until then. Leon, I want you, Cloud, Yuffie, and Tifa to handle the Darksides protecting their rear. With them out of the way Cid can bring his gummi ship in and strike the main force from behind. Cid, you'll only have time for one or two runs, so make them count. After that, they'll be waiting for you with aerial heartless, so don't push your luck. I'll handle the behemoth's leading the attack. I want Vincent to let loose on the Opposite Armors protecting the main force from the flanks. Sora, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and Kairi, will lead the attack on the main force, mostly neo-shadows. Merlin will enchant objects to assist, as well as healing the injured. Once anyone finishes their job they join this group. Tomorrow, we attack! I want everyone to be ready by 8:00 tomorrow!" Sora was wondering where the kind welcome had gone, he just got here, and now he had to fight a major battle, this wasn't normal, usually he got stuck on some long journey to defeat an evil villain , and **then** he fought a huge battle! He shrugged and followed his team out. He could feel Larxene moving around in his mind, no doubt preparing him for a long night of training.


	3. Chapter 3

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or any anime/Disney/book characters/worlds that may appear in this Fanfiction.

* * *

Sora awoke from a long night of training, luckily Larxene had let him off early so he could get some **real** sleep, he couldn't fight if he was exhausted. He quickly got out of bed and left for the Dark Depths. The heartless were going to attack from there according to Mickey.

When he arrived he found Riku and Kairi waiting for him. "Where are the others?" Kairi grinned, "Don't worry Sora, some are in position, and the others will arrive soon. So, are you ready?"

"Of course I am!"

"Good, because the heartless will be here soo—" She was cut off by Riku, "They're here!" Together they charged.

* * *

Mickey launched himself towards the 3 behemoths who led the assault. Jumping on one's head, he quickly stabbed his keyblade into the point where its horn met it's body. He quickly cast a _Pearl_ spell with his keyblade, creating it within the beast's skull. Light exploded from its head, and the rest of the body faded away. Gathering the loose light energy from his attack and using it to strengthen another _Pearl_, he jumped into the face of the next one, and launched the spell at point-blank range, causing it to collapse. A swipe from his keyblade finished the job. He pointed his keyblade at the last behemoth, "_Catena Lux Lucis." _Shining chains appeared about the behemoth holding it in place even as they burned away at it. Smoke rose where the touched it, and a hissing sound could be heard. The creature slowly burned away.

Elsewhere a Darkside was giving Leon some trouble. His gunblade wasn't overly effective against heartless, although it was fine for normal ones. Anything this size however…everything just seemed to bounce off. Rushing forward he jumped and struck at its shoulder, damage was visible, but nothing more than a shallow cut. Frustrated, he launched a burst of fire at it. The impact point glowed red-hot. Seeing an opportunity, he struck the red spot. Weakened by the fire, the shadowy 'flesh' was easily cut by the gunblade, leaving a deep gash in its arm. He smirked, and launched a fireball at its throat. He jumped to the weakened section, and swiftly decapitated the Darkside.

Nearby, he could see Yuffie stab a large shuriken into her opponent's eye, killing it. Tifa's hand was presently lodged in her opponent's throat, and Cloud could be seen attacking neo-shadows, as his opponent had been decapitated long ago. Leon joined him in battle.

* * *

Vincent was more than a little annoyed. He came out here, got ready for anything, and he got some weaklings with no real body. The opposite armors were dead before they saw him. He'd overestimated them, using Chaos' power (this is Chaos as seen at the end of Dirge of Cerberus) had been excessive. However, now was not the time, there were other heartless to kill. He turned Death Penalty on a group of Neoshadows and fired. Overhead he could see Cid swing by on a ship, launching a barrage of bullets towards the enemy. The heartless fell back from the ship, but a group of wyverns took off towards it. Taking a moment to shoot a few down, he returned to his task.

* * *

Sora charged in beside Riku and Kairi, and thought he glimpsed Donald and Goofy a short distance away. Turning towards the army of neoshadows, he summoned the keyblade and struck furiously, darkness spraying like blood before the wrath of The Savage Nymph. He knocked them back with a wide swing, killing a few, and cast Thundaga, letting the lightning devastate the area. More heartless rose to take the place of the defeated. 'There's no end to them!' **'Then stop holding back!'** Sora repeated his initial exercise. He placed blood on the keychain, allowing Larxene to fill him with electricity. He embraced it, letting the lightning course through him, then channeled it, not into his open palm, but through his keyblade. He swung his blade in a wide arc before him. From the tip of the Keyblade a shockwave of lightning shot forth, destroying dozens of heartless in a single stroke. "Thundaga Blade!" He lunged forward, ripping into the army of heartless.

* * *

Riku struck heartless after heartless with his Dark Aura. Watching each heartless be consumed by the dark fire. He heard movement and dodged, just barely evading an attack from a neoshadow. **'Is this all you can do? Do you still have to run to me for power?' **'No! I'm done using your darkness. I have my own power now! My own strength! I have allies who I can rely on!' **'So where are they now? Sora isn't fighting on his own power either.' **'No, I won't use your power, I have my own--'"DARKNESS!" Shadow wrapped around him, and the heartless shrank back from a darkness far beyond their own. Shadows stretched out, devouring the heartless. Riku gathered power and dashed forward, striking out with his darkness. He cut a path through the heartless, streaking among them, Night among Shadows. Where his darkness touched, their darkness withered away. Alone, on his own power, Riku battled on, and reveled in his Darkness.

* * *

Kairi could feel herself weakening. She lacked skill with her keyblade, and thus relied on magic. Raising her hand, a Firaga spell leapt forth, burning away at the heartless. Several heartless were frozen alive in the face of Blizzaga. Thundaga lanced down, destroying heartless after heartless in flashes of light. "_Watera._" The area was soon flooded by the spell. Leaping up, she cast another spell, "_Blizzaga_." The water, and the numerous heartless in it, froze. She brought down her keyblade and shattered the ice, allowing the shards to kill the nearby heartless, and any who may have survived her Blizzaga spell as well. She leapt back into battle, keyblade ready.

* * *

Donald and Goofy were losing, badly. Without Sora they weren't strong enough. They had done a little damage, but were quickly overwhelmed. They retreated to Merlin's position (he had been with them when the battle began), and decided to keep the heartless off of him.

* * *

Sora could feel the tide of the battle turning rapidly in their favor. They would be victorious soon. He prepared to attack again, but stopped upon hearing a horrendous shriek pierce through the sounds of battle. Green fire closed him in, and within the circle of flames, a creature of nightmare appeared. At first sight it appeared draconic. It had a snout, ridiculously large teeth, reptilian eyes and skin, muscular legs and wings, it towered over him, and green fire appeared in its mouth as it breathed. At second glance it was clearly not a dragon though. It had six legs, two black, skeletal wings that lacked any membrane between the wing's bones to allow flight, and had a large heartless symbol on its chest. On the third glance one would notice the strange, tentacle-like strands of darkness writhing forth from its body, and the heartless symbol composing the tip of its tail, which raised up over its back like a scorpion's. After another couple seconds your brain would eventually be forced to register the last feature, the agonized, shrieking face of Maleficent resting on its forehead.

Sora stumbled back in horror from this abomination. 'No, no, this can't be- it just can't! Maleficent—no! She was to strong for this! Nothing could do this to her!' He could feel unconsciousness trying to overcome him in response to the mental strain. **'Get a hold of yourself! There is no way in hell I'm letting you get me killed because of something like this!' **Sora lost the battle with unconsciousness, but did not collapse, as Larxene had just forced him to remain awake.** 'Hell no Sora! You are not getting out of this that easily.' **Larxene poured more and more power into him, until he felt like the lightning would destroy him, like the Savage Nymph was slowly ripping him apart with her power. Suddenly, he felt something break, and the pain vanished.

Sora opened his eyes, and found himself looking upon a changed world. He could see lightning flickering through the air, and the bioelectricity of his friends was clear among the blackness of the heartless. The creature before him struck at him with its claw, and he leapt over the claw, holding himself airborne for the moment. Raising his black-gloved hand, he guided those fine lines of loose electricity into the atmosphere, focusing them together. He 

poured lightning into the air, formed from his own energy. This too joined the rest in the atmosphere. He brought his hand down, and lightning struck the beast. Not the pitiful lightning of a thunder spell, but true lightning forged from the electrical charges throughout the battle field and his own magic. The beast collapsed, scorched all over by the lightning. He prepared to finish it, but was interrupted by a group of wyverns. Kunai flew from his grasp, summoned by his will, and the wyverns fell. Looking down at the abomination below, he summoned his keyblade.

* * *

Kairi and Riku had found each other in the chaos, and could only watch as a cloak figure appeared in a bolt of lightning, rising from the ground to avoid some kind of twisted, perverted version of a dragon. The figure wore a horribly familiar piece of clothing, a black cloak identical to those worn by Organization members. A shiver shot down Kairi's spine upon seeing that cloak again. The figure raised its hand and waited a moment, static flickering around its raised hand, and moved its hand sharply downward, a bolt of lightning striking down towards the creature, which collapsed. They watched as a half a dozen wyverns flew towards it. The figure waved its hand and something flew towards the wyverns. They died instantly. The figure's head tilted downwards slightly, and with all the authority of Death itself, it extended its hand to the side. In its hand appeared a horrifying object, not horrifying because of what it was, but because of who was using it. In the figure's hand rested a keyblade.

Despite their shock, they had little time for confusion, as they heard something large land behind them, turning quickly, they found a similar creature to the dragon. It was a large canine. On his forehead was an image of Pete, although this one seemed to be only an image, as no screaming or action was visible. Slowly the shadow which composed it stretched…and then split evenly down the middle. It reformed into two identical dogs, both slightly smaller than the original. Half of Pete's face was present on each dog. The first lunged towards Riku, the second towards Kairi. Separated now, they prepared to fight.

* * *

Riku watched the dog, awaiting an attack. It suddenly lunged, in no way broadcasting its intentions. He brought up The Way to Dawn instinctively, but was still pushed back a good distance. He lunged forward, his body cloaked in the power of Darkness. He struck at the dog, but was deflected as it snapped at him with its teeth. Circling the creature at high speed, he launched a series of Dark Aura spells. These had little or no effect, being completely ignored by the creature. A claw lashed out, and was met by Dark Shield, the creature pulled back and swung again. The shield broke, and Riku received a trio of claw marks to his torso. He quickly cast a spell, '_Darkga._" Darkness leapt forth from the ground around Riku. It enveloped the creature, slowly the creature began to fade, looking reminiscent of a dying nobody. Moments later the ravenous beast was gone, leaving nothing behind.

* * *

Kairi was fighting the other half at the same time. Her normal spells were having little effect, so she prepared something new. She just hoped she could do it, as she'd only learned it yesterday.

FLASHBACK

_Merlin stayed behind after the meeting. Watching the others leave, he approached Kairi, who was preparing to leave. "Kairi, I would like you to have this."  
"Why?"_

"_Well, no one wants you getting yourself blown up or some such thing. This scroll contains spells even __**I**__ can't use, but I think __**you**__ may just be able to pull it off! Good luck!' He said this, from start to finish, with a cheerful demeanor. Kairi took the scroll and went to study it._

_--_

_Kairi had seen spells before, and these were completely different. Sighing, she looked at the first incantation,_

'_Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flesh…'_

END FLASHBACK

Kairi now began one of the strange incantations that the scroll contained…

_Ruler, he who is adorned with a mask of flesh and blood.  
Truth and Temperance, Sight claw at thy enemy,  
Rip out his throat,  
Byakudou_

A wave of blue fire leapt from her outstretched hand towards the creature before her. The creature's 'flesh' burned quickly under the flames of her spell. The fire soon faded though, and the creature lunged for her. She dodged, but couldn't avoid it when the thing swiped at her with its tail, which she could now see was tipped with a heartless symbol (which, unfortunately, also served a spiked tip), which had luckily **not** struck her. She turned to face it and chanted again…

"_Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens."_

Twin bursts of blue fire leapt forth, burning away at the beast once again. Kairi cast the next without the incantation. _"Six bars of Light." _As would be expected, six bars of light embedded themselves in the creature's neck, immobilizing it, but they quickly broke. 'I had hoped I could pull that off…but apparently not.' She thrust out her had again, _"Byakurai." _A ray of light leapt from her pointed fingers, piercing the creature through the forehead. Finally, the creature fell. It quickly faded away. Looking at the numerous heartless remaining, she began her assault on the main force again. As she cast her next spell, she couldn't escape a feeling of helplessness.

* * *

Riku felt himself slowly succumbing to exhaustion as he launched yet another Dark Aura into the mass of enemies. He could feel the exertion of combat draining away at his energy, if it didn't end soon!

* * *

Sora (he thought that was his name) tossed an octet of kunai into the heartless hordes. **'Soon this tenuous consciousness will also collapse.' **'We have to hold on as long as possible!'** 'That is only about five minutes you know…' **'What am I?' **'You're Sora!' **'Then why do I remember the others? Axel and his pyromaniac personality…Zexion and his bibliomania….why do I remember them!-?' **'Why would I know!-?' **'Aren't you supposed to know this stuff? You're the one who is supposed to understand the keyblade!' **'I don't know everything! Besides, I know think this is just the keyblade! Now hurry up, we will only remain conscious for about two more minutes.'**

Cloud watched as one by one, the others collapsed. Luckily, Merlin was teleporting them away as soon as they fell unconscious. The only people remaining were himself, Riku, Kairi, and the Cloaked Figure from earlier. They too would succumb soon, he could tell. After that, Radiant Garden would again be consumed by Hallow Bastion. A ball of fire burst past him, so close that he could feel the heat, a rather massive and grand fireball at that. In the distance he caught a glimpse of a navy blue shirt. He could also see a large number of stone spikes impaling distant heartless, although he couldn't see who did it over the neoshadows (not that neoshadows were very tall…). He looked overhead, and immediately hoped that was Vincent, not another vampire, although the scythe didn't support the idea much. It looked like reinforcements had finally arrived.

* * *

Sora felt his energy leaving him. A bright flash of light blinded him momentarily. Before him he could now see a strange being appear.

At first glance, it was a beautiful young woman. Then you noticed the differences. The first thing one noticed in this lighting (night had begun to descend) was the markings. The being had faint lines of light, almost cybernetic in appearance, on its arms. Its eyes were closed, but It was looking directly at a heartless, clearly capable of sight. It was impossible to tell if the being was clothed or unclothed. There were no indicators of nudity, but there was also no visible clothing. The beings hair was long, past its waist, the end of each hair glowed slightly. A cross shaped crown rested on its head. The crown was gold, with the bottom of the cross resting between the being's closed eyes. The end of this section ended in a deep blue sapphire. The left and right sections wrapped around its head partially. The uppermost extension curved over the top of the beings head. This section divided part of the way up the entity's head, then joined back together just before it passed over the top of the skull. On the back of the head, it continued downwards, splitting again, and then wrapping around the throat in an ornate gold choker, another sapphire was present where the two halves met at the front of the throat. The most obvious thing in daylight was less obvious at night. The entire being, minus the crown/choker, was only semi-opaque and glowed slightly. It was a beautiful sight and a comforting presence… until it stuck its hand through the head of a neoshadow.

The heartless writhed about, convulsing. After a few moments of agony it convulsed one last time and disappeared. Sora could only watch as the creature tore apart the heartless with a bestial rage that contradicted its appearance. Somehow Sora found this creature more revolting in its rage than the heartless ever were in there hunger. The heartless were creatures of Darkness, they were made to destroy. This being appeared to be Light-based, but seemed to revel in destruction as much as the heartless themselves. **'Did that **_**thing**_** just rip out a heartless' throat with its **_**teeth?' **_'Yes, I think it did.'

* * *

The battle quickly ended under the onslaught of a new army of creatures. These beings of light had viciously consumed the legion of heartless. Sora was hospitalized, his appearance normal again, as were Riku and Kairi. He didn't think anyone had associated him with the 'Cloaked Figure.' He didn't remember much of his time under the cloak, just the occasional flash of an event. Most notably, the Maleficent/Dragon/Heartless/Abomination. **'Why does that bother you so much, she WAS you enemy you know.' **'That is exactly it, I always could rely on her to plot, scheme, and wreak havoc. She was one of the few constants in my life. Think of it this way, if you had an enemy who was always there, who you constantly fought, who motivated you to become stronger. If you had an enemy who you devoted everything to defeating, and then they just vanished, wouldn't _you_ be shocked, having your reason for all you work for vanish. I have not enemies right now, and all I know is this battle. It has become my identity.' **'Then find a new enemy, or prepare for the next one, or try to cleanse the worlds of evil. I don't care what madness you embark on; I will not let you kill us simply because you don't have anyone to fight right now!' **'Yeah, I guess you're right.' Sora laid back on the hospital bed, exhausted. 'By the way, what happened back there? I didn't feel right wearing that cloak.' **'That is what happens when your mind is held awake by someone else's. Your mind does as little as possible, so awareness, personality, and memory may come and go. You were acting on a combination of instinct and fragments or both our minds. Let me tell you, I never want to be that synchronized with your mind ever again! It is very hard to focus when you have someone else's memories causing trouble.' **'You think I don't know that! It was very uncomfortable remembering spending time with people that I killed!' They both quieted down after that, neither quite sure what to say. Neither liked to think that they were very nearly one person, if only for a short while.

* * *

After Sora's recovery, they were all called to a gathering outside of Merlin's house. As Sora arrived, he was greeted by an interesting sight Yen Sid stood upon a makeshift stage. Behind the stage stood several of the Light creatures from before. Yen Sid spoke, "Today we have gathered to celebrate a great victory. Thanks to the efforts of many devoted heroes, as well as the Unshadowed, the ultimate beings of light. These creatures were created by means of a special method I have discovered of processing the hearts of Heartless. They have no darkness in them, only pure light, and with their power we can bring this to the worlds. I will use them to systematically destroy every trace of foul darkness in the worlds, overthrowing the tyrants and villains who are bringing such misery to the good people of the Light. Soon we will be free of heartless and nobodies! Soon, the worlds shall be bathed in Light. Soon, there shall be **nothing** but the Light!" As Yen Sid finished his speech, a cold shiver went up Sora's spine…


	4. Chapter 4

I don't own Kingdom Hearts

--

Today a celebration of their victory was being held at Olympus Coliseum. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and the other brave individuals who fought in the battle for Radiant Garden would be receiving awards for their valor. The trio was presently on their way there via gummiship. **"Sora, are you really sure that you should be moving around? If you fight now, then you'll be at a disadvantage." **

'Why would I be fighting? It's just an award ceremony!'

"Sora, are you alright?" Sora snapped out of his daze as he heard Kairi speak. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You had a bit of a glazed over look…not to mention your magic." Kairi laughed lightly.

"What? What does my magic have to do with this?"

"You do realize that it isn't stable right?"

'Since when is my magic unstable?' "What are you talking about?"

"I mean the sparks leaping around you. What else would I mean?"

"Sparks?" Sora looked down at himself, and was surprised to see lose electrical energy. 'Larxene! What the hell is going on!?'

'**Looks like there were from side effects, just absorb the energy.**' Larxene yawned, they were both still exhausted.

'Side effects of what?' Sora asked, bewildered.

'**What else? Do you really think that even a partial fusion with me wouldn't have side effects? You really are naïve, but don't complain, you're generating a little electricity of your own now, now you won't have to come running to me whenever you need some. It should be enough for one jolt of electricity. Now if you don't mind, I need to rest!' **Sora just sighed and absorbed the energy as he felt Larxene break the connection. He turned to Riku. "How much longer?" "We're there Sora, so stop complaining." They landed and approached the coliseum. There was a large crowd in the stands, and numerous people entering. Sora _could_ see Cloud walking in, Tifa beside him. Nearby he could see Vincent and even Cid. As they reached the center of the Arena, Yen Sid's voice rang out. "Honored heroes who have fought for the freedom of the light, we thank you. Now, as a reward for your services, we grant you these awards." Sora watched as a medal of honor appeared around his neck, it was clearly gold. He could see that Riku and Kairi had received the same. "In addition, any who are here as part of an agreement may meet me here again in 3 days to receive your payment. Now, I believe that it would be appropriate to inform you of certain facts. First of all, from this day forward, the Unshadowed will be lead by three generals I have chosen. I hope that with time, you can come to see them as friends and comrades. Allow me to present, Terra, Ven, and Aqua!"

Three figures stepped into the coliseum, the first was dark-haired, the largest of the three, his face bore a slight scowl. The second was a beautiful young woman, her hair was, strangely, blue. She was waving at the crowd. The last…Sora was wondering if he needed glasses. 'Larxene, am I seeing this right?' **'I think so…but then again, I'm seeing through your eyes. Ask Riku.' **"Riku, I **am** hallucinating…right?" "No Sora, I don't believe you are." Before 

Sora's eyes stood Roxas, or at least he was identical to Roxas. But it couldn't be him, Sora had reabsorbed Roxas. Yen Sid spoke again.

"Next, I'd like to request that Sora, Riku, Kairi, Leon, Yuffie, Vincent Valentine, Abel Nightroad, Cloud Strife, Aerith, Tifa, and Cid Highwind remain behind afterwards. Now, I bid you all farewell." **'Keep your guard up Sora.' **'I know Larxene, you never let me forget it.' He sighed and waited for everyone to filter out.

--

After everyone else had left, Yen Sid spoke again. "I'm afraid to tell you that some of your actions up to this point have been unacceptable. As such, you must be held accountable." A couple people gasped, and he thought he heard a disgruntled sound from Riku. "Vincent Valentine, you have been found guilty of using the power of Darkness, you are hereby sentenced to purification. If you resist, force will be used. Squall Leonheart, also known as Leon, you are found guilty of knowingly cooperating with a wielder of Darkness, you will be imprisoned for ten years. Yuffie, you are found guilty of knowingly cooperating with a wielder of Darkness, you will be imprisoned for ten years as well. Tifa, and Cid, you are also found and held guilty of the same crime, and will receive the same punishment. Aerith, you are found guilty of cooperating with a user of Darkness, however, because of your exceptionally high light alignment, your sentence is hereby mitigated to three years. Cloud Strife, you are found guilty of wielding Dark power. However, you have ceased the use of it, and will only be imprisoned for ten years, as opposed to purification. Abel Nightroad, you are…where is he? I suppose he left prematurely. Ven, would your retrieve him?"

"My apologies sir, he has already left the world, and has also destroyed his award. I have no way to find him."

"He didn't matter much anyway. Sora, you are found guilty of wielding the power of Darkness, becoming a heartless, entering the world of Darkness, and cooperating with a wielder of Darkness. You will be immediately purified. Kairi, as a Princess of Heart you are pardoned of your crime of cooperating with a being of Darkness. Riku, you are hereby found guilty of cooperating with heartless, using the power of Darkness, betraying your allies within the Light, uniting with a heartless for power, imprisoning the Princesses of Heart, and entering the World of Darkness. You are to be immediately executed." As the last word echoed throughout the silent stadium, time seemed to slow. Terra approached Riku and drew a sword, preparing to carry out the sentence. Suddenly time restarted and Sora lunged at Terra. Ven stepped in the way and through him back. The Savage Nymph swung towards the Roxas look alike, and was stopped by a keyblade that had appeared in the general's hand. Nearby he could see Aqua pull Kairi away from the battle. Riku met Terra with his Keyblade. A new battle had begun.

Riku was still shocked as Terra's sword met his keyblade. It was a stalemate, neither overcoming the other. He launched a Dark Aura, which was blocked by the sword, as were the next two. Terra struck at him with an overhand swing. Riku dodged, and watched as the ground shattered where Terra struck. The attack left an opening, which Riku exploited with a Dark Aura fireball. Terra was pushed back a short distance, but countered with Firaga. Riku charged forward, and met Terra head on. As their swords locked, Riku began to draw on his inner darkness. The power of darkness cloaked The Way to Dawn in shadow. Terra's sword cracked. Riku only had a moment's warning when a keyblade appeared in Terra's hand. He dodged the keyblade swipe, and struck again. The two keyblades met, and Riku drew out more darkness. The darkness wrapped itself around him.

Sora stopped his battle with Ven (who halted as well) as Riku was engulfed in Darkness. Slowly the Darkness was taking shape. It stretched out behind him like a cloak, whipping in an illusionary wind. Slowly it solidified. His 

yellow jacket was now black as night, and extended into something resembling a cloak, the front open showing the shirt he wore under it-it was now silver, a black heartless symbol rested on the left side of his chest-just over his heart. His jeans were now black and his shoes were the same- with the exception of the steel shell covering the fronts of the shoes. His left wrist-which previously was wrapped in cloth- now bore a black glove with a steel plate upon it, the glove only covered the back of the hand-Sora could see that it wasn't cloth, but shadow- and the plate sat in the very middle of his hand-a black rune carved into it.

Riku lunged forward, his complete Darkness invested in every strike. Terra attempted to fight back, but could feel his grip loosen with each strike. His sword wasn't faring much better, evident from the crack running down it. All he could do was brace himself for the next attack.

Kairi watched as events unfolded, Aqua standing in front of her for protection. As Riku's power manifested she began to chant quietly under her breath.

"_Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Twin Lotus Blue Fire Crash Down!"_

She unleashed both bursts of flame directly into Aqua's back, launching her across the arena. Aqua slowly stood; smoke was rising from her body. "Kairi, why? We only want to help everyone! Why would a Princess of Heart like you betray us!? Please, we don't want to fight you!"

"What? How is imprisoning, executing, and 'purifying", whatever that means, people who have fought for your cause time and time again helping people!? Anyone who would do such a thing has no Light in them!"

Aqua looked stunned, but quickly retorted, "Me? You're the one who turned against the Light for a couple of Darkness lovers! You call yourself a Princess of Heart! You've forsaken your Light!" Aqua launched a Blizzaga spell, which was met by Firaga. She just barely evaded Kairi's _Byakurai_ follow-up attack. Kairi stepped out of the path of Aqua's newly summoned keyblade, and spoke a quick spell "_Eruptio Ignis." _A wave of fire burst from her hand, seeking to overwhelm Aqua. At the last moment Aqua raised a Shell spell to hold it off, but still couldn't stop herself from being pushed back. The flames slowly drove Aqua back against the wall of the coliseum.

Sora was giving ground before Ven. He evaded a horizontal slash from Ven's keyblade by stepping back, then thrust with The Savage Nymph. Ven sidestepped the thrust and struck Sora from behind. Sora flew forwards from the impact. He used an older technique, Strike Raid, to distract Ven and struck Ven in the chest with his palm. At the moment of impact he released all of his electrical energy, attempting to overload Ven's nervous system. Unfortunately, Ven remained conscious, but was shaking as his neuron fired uncontrollably. Ven cast a spell, Aero, on to his keyblade, wrapping the wind around it. Sora, having used The Savage Nymph for his Strike Raid, summoned Oblivion. The two blades locked together, but Ven's Aero spell struck at Sora from the blade. Gashes opened all over Sora's body, and blood slicked the handle of Oblivion, slowly soaking the keychain. **"Really Sora, you just can't make it without me can ya? I was enjoying the rest too…oh well. Now let's get started." **Sora felt power rush into him. His wounds closed and an organization cloak appeared around his body. Oathkeeper materialized in his left hand and Sora used it to break the lock. He gathered his mana and summoned thirteen pillars of energy, each tipped with a Nobody symbol. They circled him, holding off attacks while he gathered energy from his two keyblades, light from one and darkness from the other. He brought them together into a small sphere of energy, its destructive power fueled by the conflict between the two forces, and threw it towards Ven, who barely dodged, but didn't have time to react before the next one hit him directly in the chest. Two more swiftly followed; one struck his right shoulder, causing him to drop his keyblade; the other impacted with his left 

leg, preventing him from regaining his footing properly. Sora swiftly sent the pillars of energy towards Ven. The energy pillars aligned themselves over Ven, who was still knocked down. The energy struck him relentlessly and Sora felt victory approaching as he watched.

Yen Sid made a subtle gesture and the Princesses of Heart (minus Kairi) took stations around the arena. They began to chant and light slowly gathered. It coalesced around Ven, Terra, and Aqua. It slowly formed into armor. Aqua stood and pushed through the flames towards Kairi, Terra broke free of Riku's Darkness, which had begun to envelop him, and Ven stood despite the energy pillars, their power deflected by the newly formed dragoon-like armor.

Seeing things falling apart, Sora used Oathkeeper's magic to take the form of a sphere of light flying towards his friends. He changed back and grabbed Riku, who shrank back from the light slightly, and Kairi and pulled them both back away from their opponents. He picked up The Savage Nymph and applied blood to the keychain. He felt Larxene twist reality nearby and the three of them sprinted towards the newly formed portal. They dived through as a Blizzaga spell flew by them, courtesy of Aqua.

Sora woke up. Looking around, he saw Kairi and Riku unconscious. Where was he? **'The World that Never was, it's the safest place for now. There are too many heartless and nobodies for the Unshadowed or any other enemies to get in easily.' **Now he remembered, Larxene had opened them an escape route. His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. **'Hey Sora, it's good to see you again. What I want to know though, is how the hell you have Larxene in your head. For that matter, how are you still sane if you have Larxene in your head? Ahh!' **Sora assumed that Larxene had taken offense. 'Roxas, is that you? '

'**Who else would it be?' **

'I have Larxene in my head; at this point I wouldn't be shocked if Maleficent popped up…if she does, please interrogate her...actually don't. Call me first- I want to watch.'

'**First of all, I doubt that will happen. Secondly, since when do you ask for people to be interrogated, especially considering the fact that you seemed to enjoy the idea?'**

'Sorry, when you share a mind with someone, your personalities become a little unstable at times.'

'**Sora, just because your other is here doesn't mean you can talk about me as if I'm not here.'**

'Roxas, I've been meaning to ask what that technique was back there.'

'**Uh, Sora, Larxene…'**

'You know, those pillars of energy, how do they work? I just kinda went on autopilot.'

'**Sora! You better stop ignoring me, or I will give you nightmares that will leave you traumatized for life!' **Sora just laughed while a strangely familiar smile appeared on his face. Roxas was at in the opposite side of his mind now, hiding from Larxene-who was always sadistic- and Sora- who was over exposed to Larxene. Calming down, Sora gently shook Riku and Kairi. The two slowly woke up. Kairi spoke first, "Where are we?" "Utopia." Riku translated for her, "We're in the World that Never Was."

"How Is that a Utopia?!"

"Utopia is Latin for nowhere, and this is a nonexistent world. So it is Utopia."

"Was this all really necessary, it would have been a lot easier to say it outright." Sora couldn't help chuckling at the conversation. They were being chased by their former allies, and here they were arguing over a piece of wordplay.

"Utopia or not, we're being chased, so maybe we should focus on that for now?" Riku nodded, "Of course, now what should we do?" Kairi looked thoughtful, "We need to make sure that they don't reach us, so how about constructing a ward. They were briefly mentioned in some of the books I've been studying over the last few days. If we could put up a strong enough barrier, then we could use this is our base of operations. We'll want it to last a while, so we should probably create the ward in a physical form, a set of markings that dictates the purpose, area, and basic attributes of the ward and a power source. We'll probably want to make it more durable than some painted markings though, stone would be best." Sora nodded, "Good, how long should it take to find a proper warding spell, find the materials, and build it?"

"If they have a library I can probably find one in a couple of days. Time to find materials will vary greatly. We also don't know what the Organization had stored away here. The construction will probably take three to eighteen hours." Riku grimaced, "We'll have to hurry, they'll probably be here in only a week or so. In the meantime we should close the entrance off. That way they'll have to reopen the pathway. That should buy us a couple of days, because they'll have to stop by Twilight Town to do that." "Okay then, Kairi, you and I will look for research and production materials. Riku, I need you to seal the pathway, and then join back up with us." "Ok."

Sora walked Kairi to Zexion's room via the gravestone- Zexion had always been a little obsessed with his books. As they entered, Sora failed to see Kairi's puzzled expression at his knowledge. The room was full of books, several shelves were full, and the floor was littered with stacks of them. Rather different from the room he fought  
Saix in, this room wasn't brightly lit, with the exception of the reading lamp on a mahogany desk in the center, one behind a rather comfortable looking armchair to the side, and a small, unlit fireplace there was no clear source of lighting. The walls were a dark red, with a black and silver border where the wall met the ceiling. The room was all hardwood, but was truly wood-not the foreign metal of much of the castle. Sora walked over to a shelf and examined the titles, speaking out loud, "Inferno, Fires of Heaven, Cast in Shadows, Mistborn, a Memory of Light….hmm…" 'Larxene, I remember that he had other types of books, not just fiction, so where are they?' **'Go to the desk, the top drawer to your left is fake. Open it.' **He did as she said, while Kairi watched, forgotten for the moment. It looked like an ordinary drawer. **'Inside the drawer, to the left, there is an ****Ouroboros****, push on it.' **As Sora looked closer he saw the Serpent, barely visible, seemingly carved into the wood. He pushed on it. A section of the drawer dropped down slightly and slid back under the false bottom. There was a keypad. Larxene murmured the password to him. He typed it in. The Fireplace changed. The opening expanded to human size, and the back sliding down into the ground, leaving a room visible beyond it. Sora quickly hurried through.

Kairi watched as Sora seemed to easily, almost casually trigger the various concealed mechanisms that Zexion had installed. As the door opened she spoke, "Sora how did you?" Sora had already gone through. She just shook her head and went in. She was relieved to see that Sora was just as stunned as she was by the immense library they had entered. There were scores of shelves, each completely full. They were arranged in three rows. This room, unlike the other, resembled the outer castle, all metal and glass, with none of the comfortable feel of the first chamber. She turned towards Sora. "I'll take the left, you take the middle. Riku can have the right." He nodded and they began searching.

As far as she could tell, the shelves were organized by subject, then the author's name, and then the title. She examined the categories. 'Alchemy, Allomancy, Bakudo, Barriers! Now let's see...A Compendium of Shielding Spells-no- Illusionary Walls: Design and Concealment-no- Hiding in Plain Sight: A Guide to Invisibility and Its Flaws- 

IS THERE NOTHING ON WHAT I NEED!-…Barrier Diagramming: Creation. This will do perfectly.' She opened the book.

_It is assumed that the reader has already read 'Basic Runes and Diagrams' and 'Seals: Locking Away Dangers.' If not, please read these before trying to understand-much less utilize- this book.'_

Sora jerked up from his contemplation of _Listening to the Voices: A User's Guide to Sealed Demons, Angels, Spirits, and Others _as a cry of frustration echoed through the Library. Larxene, who had been sharpening her kunai (Sora wasn't sure why- they were manifestations of a Nobody's soul- at least according to Larxene's lecture last night- and didn't dull like normal weapons) and said to Sora **'I thought Zexion got that girl out of here.' **'Who, Kairi?' Sora asked incredulously. **'No, the one who could be heard moaning from hunger on occasion.' **

Sora laughed out loud as he delved into the memories he had obtained from Larxene, 'You mean, the girl that stopped eating and nearly died of starvation?'

'**Yeah, she just popped up one day, asked where she was and if there was a library nearby.'**

'Didn't she say that she was stuck at home and got curious about something, and wanted to go to the library.' **'Then she claimed that she found herself in Zexion's room.' **

'He let her into the library and she didn't leave. Once she collapsed from hunger, thirst, and exhaustion he wiped her memory and sent her home- he didn't want her to come back and do it again.' Larxene laughed lightly, then calmed down and asked, **'So that was Kairi who we heard then? I guess this place would be a bit frustrating, especially when you're looking for a particular fact.' **She glanced through Sora's eyes at the book, **"Stop slacking Sora! We are being chased you know!" **'Right!' He grabbed the book and started looking again.

Riku finished closing the keyhole and eventually found Zexion's study. As he entered he felt a strange tugging in his mind. He shook himself and walked into the library. He looked down the middle 'hall.' Sora was asleep-he never had been a fan of reading. He looked down the left hall looking for Kairi. She appeared to have forgotten her goal once she found the Combat Magic: Standard Spells and Variants section. He just rolled his eyes and took the right hallway. He glanced at each section in turn, nothing catching his eye, until he found the section called Wards. Looking at the titles, one stood out. Wards, Seals, and Barriers: Runes, Diagramming, Adaptation, and Symbolic Invocation. He opened it.

_Table of Contents_

_Wards: Personal_

_Wards: Specified Area_

_Wards: Object-Based_

_Seals: Location Sealing_

_Seals: Spirit-Object_

_Seals: Sprit-Creature_

_Seals: Spirit-Spirit_

_Barriers: Short Term_

_Barriers: Active Preservation_

_Barriers: External Energy_

_Symbolic Invocation: Spirits_

_Symbolic Invocation: Physical Creature_

_Symbolic Invocation: Forces_

_Symbolic Invocation: Worlds and Hearts_

_Symbolic Invocation: Will (This may be Soul or Heart invocation; this is still up for debate)_

_Rune translation and Creation_

_Diagramming Guide_

Riku smirked, "Perfect."

An hour later(No one could seem to rouse Sora-the exhaustion from the battle had caught up to him) the group was gathered in Zexion's room, looking over the book. Riku spoke first, "Okay, well we obviously need a barrier- we can't use a short term barrier, it would be too hard to maintain. We can't use Active Preservation because someone would have to constantly supply it with mana. That leaves an external energy source as our only option." The other two nodded in agreement. "Considering what we're trying to keep out-an army including three keyblade wielders- we should try to bolster its power. The book says that through the use of certain formats for a spell diagram or certain markings you can invoke another source of power- for example a spirit of some type. Now I've looked over our options. There are no creatures or spirits available. That leaves a force-like light or darkness, a heart- be it a world's or a person's, or an individual's will- but I they lost focus for even an instant it would fall. Now my recommendation would be a unique invocation which integrates multiple Forces and World Heart's. The invocation draws upon the power of an ancient group of worlds which each harnessed a basic force- light, darkness, nothingness, and twilight. I don't know the details, but the invocation has immense power despite the fact that the worlds no longer exist. The problem is that it requires a power source from every one of the Forces, a way to stabilize them, and a large amount of pure mana to harness the power. If it works we will be able to keep out most anything- but if it fails then we'll probably die before the army even arrives. What do you guys think?" Sora nodded grimly, "We'll die if they get here- so I'd say that it's worth the risk. What about you Kairi." "Maybe, but we need to be extremely careful." Riku spoke again, "Okay then let's get started. Sora, I need you to find materials, mana most notably, ether should do it- but I don't know how we'll find enough." "Kairi, you will need to create the diagram-try to make it lasting if possible. I'll try to find a source for each of the forces."

Sora stood as Riku finished and walked towards the proof of existence. "Larxene, you have any ideas?" He spoke aloud without realizing it. **'For one, keep your mouth shut- I don't want to know how your friends would respond to my presence. Second, you should try Vexen's lab, he always keeps a good supply of ether there. Just be glad that you got lucky. Third, you may want to hurry- the enemy may be ahead of schedule.' **Sora nodded and hurried into Vexen's lab, pouring a potion on the 'grave' in order to summon the door. He immediately spotted the 

large tank of ether attached to the wall. Larxene told him to grab a flask-which he did- and directed him towards a nozzle on the tank. He fastened the flask to it- and watched as a hair thin line of ether poured out. Larxene answered his unasked question. **'The area within the flasks is compressed space, it is actually much larger than it seems. Two flasks should be enough for most anything.' **Sora nodded, considering how useful such a thing could be to him-a near infinite source of potion, as easy to carry as a normal one. That was his thought until his arm began to grow tired. **'Just because it takes up less space, doesn't mean the wait changes. That can contain roughly one thousand times as much as a normal flask, but it weighs the same as roughly one thousand flask of whatever you fill it with.' **Sora just groaned and braced it with his other hand too.

Kairi was looking over the various runes and the diagram they had chosen. 'Okay, first the basic structure.' She cast a spell "_torqueo calx" _the floor of the Altar of Naught changed- becoming a large square. Each side had a circular area at the exact median of the line-from each of these another line(of the same width as the circle) traveled to a final circle in the center, somewhat larger than the outer ones. The 'lines' were actually long troughs for holding liquid mana. After the spell was complete the mana would crystallize, acting as the external energy source, once it was fully drained of energy, it would disappear and the troughs would need to be filled with more ether. Thankfully, energy was only drained when the barrier was actually stopping something, **not** all of the time. Each circle represented one of the invoked worlds and forces. The bottom was Nothingness, the left was Light, the right was Darkness, and the top was Twilight. The center was unaligned, the point where all or the Forces both met and originated. She moved about the area magically carving runes throughout it in order to govern the flow of mana, dictate the basic purpose of the barrier, mark the various areas by the Force the invoked and the runes for each of the corresponding Worlds, and all the other minutiae that had to be clearly specified, as they couldn't risk binding it to their intent, which was more standard. This was because their deaths would then cause the barrier to cease functioning. This way it would be able to outlast them after their deaths. They felt it was worth doing- this may very well lead to war.

Riku was calculating the balance of Forces necessary and potential symbols for each source. He just hoped he was ready in time. If any force overpowered the others, then the entire thing would fall apart, and chances are the uncontrolled energy would kill them all.

Sora finished filling the second flask and placed it next to the other on a counter in the lab(not without difficulty though). 'Are you ready Larxene?' **'Of course not, you damn well killed me once, and I'm starting to think you want to do it again!' **'Huh?' **'This invocation has never succeeded, the Forces don't form properly anymore, and no one knows why.' **'Why didn't you say something earlier?!' **'Why should you care about the ramblings of a nobody? It isn't like you bothered to ask my opinion earlier. All you wanted me to do was point you to the ether.' She thought at him coldly, but there was anger under the ice in her voice. **Sora was slightly confused; he hadn't ever seen Larxene act like this. It was so out of character for her. What had he done to make her so upset? All he had done was ask her to help him with his task…but he hadn't asked her opinion about the spell design! He had just assumed…damn, he never thought that it would make her feel like, like- like a Nobody. He had treated her like she didn't matter, like she didn't exist. He had done that, despite knowing that Organization Thirteen was 

constantly trying to prove that they truly did exist, that they mattered. It was part of the reason they had tried to change the Worlds. He knew that from her memories. It was why they always sought to change the normal events that would have taken place in the Worlds where he had fought them. They were trying to prove they exist. He swore to himself to try to take the pain of nonexistence from her someday. He didn't know why he cared, but Nothing was reason enough.

Two days and a lot of preparation later, they were ready to begin. Larxene had cooled off some, and they were getting along again, although she was still on edge. The rune-covered troughs were filled with ether (aka liquid mana), Riku walked up to the center circle and shoved the Way to Dawn into a raised area in the center. Kairi followed suit with her keyblade, Noon's Gift. They backed out of the square and Kairi began an incantation.

"_Ye who knows the name of man; the sun dies and is reborn, the Ouroboros bites its tail, Twilight burns and fills the Void ,what is broken is reformed! Weave upon the Pattern the Genesis and guard those who see its truth. Genesis Invocation: Lord's Shield!"_

Light and Darkness radiated from the Keyblades. Nothingness rose from the World that Never Was. Where Light and Darkness met, Twilight formed-or it should have. Instead the two clashed, Light struck out at Darkness, the two slamming into each other with unrivaled power. Sora watched in horror, 'What's wrong!?' **'Something is missing, the Forces aren't balanced.' **'Missing…wait the invocation touches five worlds, but only four are being invoked!' He summoned the Kingdom Key, the Unaligned Keyblade, and sprinted forward through Light and Darkness. Stabbing it into the center circle between the others, just above the rune of Nothing. The unaligned power traveled down the rift between Light and Darkness. Nothingness flowed with it. Energy from Light and Darkness was stabilized by the Unaligned power, then flowed together within the Nothingness, where they intertwined. Light and Darkness melded, and the result both brightened and darkened. From it flowed both love and hate, fear and anticipation, joy and sadness, Life and Death. The forces faded. Now all that could be seen was crystal. White and Black separated down the middle of each line of crystal by unaligned Gray. Down the middle of the Gray White and Black were intertwined, flowing into each other but never fading into gray. They were stark and strong, but somehow united in purpose. That perfect completion that is the Twilight.

**AN: I know I haven't updated in sometime, but I had a troublesome case of writer's block and didn't want to post filler instead of a real chapter. Also, as we are unsure of the fate of the World That Never Was, the following things will be assumed for the story's sake.**

**1)Kingdom Hearts is gone, it failed to hold together after being so severely damaged.**

**2)The World That Never Was still exists(or at least as much as it ever did)**

**3)Damaged portions of it have reformed since the end of Kingdom Hearts 2**

**--Higure Hokousha**

**--Reviews are Appreciated**


	5. Chapter 5

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, Trinity Blood, or anything else besides the plot of this story and things which do not appear in any canon.

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The Nymph's Blade-Chapter 5

"talking"

"**Larxene talking from mind"**

"Larxene talking in mindscape"

'**Larxene thinking'**

'Sora thinking'

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As the last traces of energy faded into the crystal, a burning sensation erupted in Sora's flesh. It felt like he was being ripped apart, like his heart, soul, and body were being separated once again, except that they weren't being separated, they were being torn to pieces, and then melted back together. As the pain overtook him, one last word echoed through his mind, 'Larxene…'

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If Sora had been properly aware, he would have seen Riku and Kairi fall to the ground beside him, screaming as loud as he, unknowingly, had. The crystal glowed brightly and the light and darkness engulfed them.

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As Sora's consciousness fled, the pain progressed past him, and Larxene collapsed. As she tried to remain conscious, lightning leapt from her. It sought to reach the source of the pain, and failed. Roxas could only watch in horror as Larxene and Sora fell unconscious in Sora's mind, and await the pain…but the pain never came, and Roxas was pushed out of the forefront of Sora's mind.

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Sora slowly regained awareness, grabbing his chest at the remembered pain. His palm felt something odd. He looked down at himself, and found a strange upraised tattoo in his flesh, a mark identical to the one they had just created form mana. His clothing had burned away, revealing the mark emblazoned on his skin. 'I wonder if Larxene knows anything about this. Wait…LARXENE!' He jumped up as memory rushed back fully. His eyes rapidly scanned the area, and found Larxene laying face first on the glass floor, scattered electrical energy surrounding her unconscious form. 'She has to be unconscious, she can't be…she just can't.' He sprinted to her, flipping her over to check for signs of breathing. She didn't seem to be breathing, he placed her hand on her chest, desperately searching for a pulse, and found one, although faint. He breathed a sigh of relief. Then he realized what else he had felt, he looked down at her. There was a mark identical to his own resting upon her chest, standing out against her bare… skin….'Shit!!' She opened her eyes.

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Larxene opened her eyes slowly, expecting the absolute darkness of Sora's mind. Instead, she found herself staring into a pair of terrified blue eyes. 'Why is he so scared, I mean what could be so…' it was then that she registered the pressure on her chest, 'He wouldn't actually…' She looked down his arm, and lost all rational thought at the sight of Sora's hand on her bare chest, completely missing the fact that her cloak had had a hole burned in it, the strange tattoo, and the fact that Sora had already looked away and was blushing furiously. Because of this, Sora found himself being thrown hurled off the edge of the platform by a bolt of lightning. Luckily, it was his mind, and the platform expanded to accommodate him. Larxene calmed down enough to realize everything else, including the fact that Sora had the same mark on him. "Sora, you sure as _hell_ better have a good explanation!""You weren't breathing…a pulse.... the mark….' Larxene realized what had happened, but was still more than a little tempted just to shock him again for fun; it isn't that often that one gets the opportunity to torture the guy who killed you. Besides that, she couldn't help but think that she'd been going too easy on him recently. She sure as hell wasn't here to joke around with him and discuss torture methods…not that he would ever really get into it, but he at least seemed to appreciate the thought that she put into it, and she had to admit he really did have a nice grasp of what people can survive-probably because he'd been most of it… **'Focus!' **"What happened Sora? What was that?""I don't know; we had just cast the spell, and— I forgot Riku and Kairi! I'll be right back." He vanished. **'He thought of me first?'**

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Sora sat up to find Riku and Kairi slowly waking up. Glancing at their chests (and quickly averting his gaze from Kairi's, he'd learned his lesson about that), the same mark was visible on each. As the other's became aware of the situation they turned to inquire, but were interrupted by a surge of mana through the seal on the ground. Looking out from the Altar, they could see a large gummiship overhead, Yen Sid, the Generals, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey standing atop its deck, raining spells towards the seal's barrier.

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Yen Sid was irritated, very irritated. He had no clue how novices like them could cook up a substantial barrier like this so quickly. From his underling he could hear calls of "Blizzaga!", "Ira Lux Lucis!", and "Aeroga!" However each spell was easily stopped by the barrier. He addressed them, frustrated, "Stand back, I will remove it." He gestured extravagantly towards the barrier (an impressed follower **is** an obedient follower after all), and shouted, " Solaris!" The spell he was most proud of formed. Behind him, light energy gathered until it resembled a small star, and then the energy was released in a beam, trying to pierce the barrier.

The barrier started to give under the onslaught, and Yen Sid prepared to order an assault. Suddenly, as he began to speak, a surge of energy flowed into the barrier, reinforcing it at the contact point.

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Back at the World that Never Was, the group was shocked to see the embedded keyblades glow brightly, their energy flowing into the seal. Clearly, the mana already present had been insufficient to hold off the assault, so it had drawn on power from the keyblades. As Sora watched the event, Larxene spoke, **"Sora, you do realize this is a problem, right?" **'A problem? Why? It held up fine.' **"This time, yes, but in the future it may not. Besides, that it needs the keyblades for power, so you'll have to leave them there." **'I prefer Savage Nymph anyway.' **"You may have other options, but what about Riku and Kairi. They both have only one keyblade, without those, they'll be left unarmed. How are you going to remedy **_**that**_**?" **'I'll figure something out.' Larxene could only roll her eyes at his "It-will-all-turn-out-okay" mindset. As everyone calmed down, the marking forgotten for the moment, Kairi, seeing the same problem as Larxene, spoke, "So, the barrier works, but what are supposed to do if we can't use our keyblades? We have to fight back _somehow_." Sora, after a moment of thought, responded, "I could lone you each a keychain, until you can get your own back or find another. " He dug through his pockets-enchanted for special distortion- and pulled out One Winged Angel, which he had won from Sephiroth at Olympus Coliseum, and tossed it to Riku. "Here Riku, it isn't perfect, but it _is_ dark-aligned, so it should work fairly well with your abilities." He started to grab one for Kairi, but she stopped him. "Don't worry about it Sora, I'll find another one, and I use my magic mainly anyway." "Are you sure?" "Yep!" "Alright then…" Sora stopped his search and the discussion resumed. Riku, looking contemplative, spoke, "Alright, if that's out of the way, then the next order of business is what to do, we can't just stay here all of the time." It was Sora who answered, "First, we need to find a way to strengthen the barrier, it needed those keyblades to hold together, who knows what will happen if it is a stronger attack next time." Kairi looked at Sora, "Could you just add another keyblade or two?" Riku shook his head at the suggestion, "Ultimately, all of Sora's keyblades draw power through Sora, if you add another, then all that you'll do is divide the mana. For that matter, just using the keyblade could weaken its owner's keyblade _here_ temporarily so we should avoid doing that unless necessary. As for strengthening the barrier, we would need a keyblade which isn't connected to any of us. Now, I may have an idea. During my time with Maleficent, she told me about the hearts of worlds, our target at the time. In order to guarantee the consumption of a world by darkness, you have to defeat or bypass the world's defense mechanism, this comes in three parts. The first is the keyhole, a keyblade must be use to open the keyhole, this opens a gateway to the world core. This is where the basic components which create, sustain, and in fact make up a world are. This includes, but isn't limited to, the heart and soul of a world. A world's soul contains the world's rules and principles. This ranges from things like physical and magical laws, to basic structure, such as the organization of power, flexibility of the events in the world-as many worlds are naturally inclined towards a set path. This force is known as destiny. To consume the world, one must interfere with this. By using spells or interfering directly, you can push a world from its set path; this in turn strikes at the soul. Normally Destiny makes It impossible to access the world's heart, because the continuance of existence is the strongest force of Destiny. Natural forces, intelligent beings, even laws of magic will bend or change completely to maintain the existence of the world. This is the second security feature. By breaking the world's path away from the one dictated by Destiny, it shatters Destiny itself, and leaves the heart exposed. The last security feature is the world Keyblade. It draws upon the heart of the world itself, and the soul grants it to the individual on the world who is closest in nature to the world itself. The keyblade effectively absorbs the World Heart. In order to consume a world, the wielder must be killed, this in turn shatters the keyblade and exposes the heart, which is in turn is fed to the heartless. Now as I see it, our best option is to do the same, we'll open the keyhole, and then influence the world until Destiny shatters. Once that happens, the exposed heart will form a keyblade and choose a wielder. After that we will have to convince the wielder to part with it voluntarily. We can then place the keyblade here, and bolster the barrier with the power of the World Heart. In addition, we will hopefully gain new allies for the upcoming fight."

Sora, Kairi, and Larxene were listening intently, although Sora could here Roxas snoring loudly in the back of his mind. It sounded like it would work, but there was one question on his mind, "Will we need more than one? I mean, it **is **the heart of a _world_. It isn't like it is a single person's keyblade, which only has the power of the single individual." Riku nodded, "That is a good point, but we will need a lot more than one. That last spell would have ripped through a single World Heart like nothing." Kairi looked at him skeptically, "But, our keyblades held it off, and they can't be as powerful as a world's keyblade." Riku shook his head, "Actually they're much stronger than that. Consider the world's you've been to. Most had no more than, and likely less than, a dozen people there. Some had a higher population but the majority of the populations were relatively small. A World Heart derives much of its power from the populace, so a handful of people grant little power. Besides that, consider how easily the Organization interfered with Destiny. This shows that the world as a whole is relatively weak; a fragile Destiny is a sign of a weak Heart and Soul. Our keyblades, however, have fed on the thousands of heartless and nobodies we have killed." Kairi, not familiar with the concept, couldn't help but ask, "What do you mean "fed on"? Thoughtlessly, Sora answered, forgetting that he shouldn't know either, "The keyblade is a weapon which cleaves off and absorbs a portion of the victim's heart. This leads to what some people have foolishly termed "experience." This would suggest that we grow stronger simply as a result of practice and battle experience, but that is hardly the case. In truth we are absorbing both power, and, to a lesser degree, knowledge from those we defeat. If you kill a heartless, you absorb a portion of its heart's mana, which can in turn strengthen your physical or magical abilities. It also absorbs knowledge which was imprinted on the opponent's heart; this is normally only knowledge from after becoming a heartless, however, someone who managed to remain conscious of their past self, such as Xehanort's heartless, will have a portion of their original knowledge passed on as well. This knowledge accumulates over time and we eventually harness these fragments of knowledge in order to create more advanced techniques, such as the scan ability." By the time he stopped the other two were gaping, until Riku recovered enough to speak, "That's right…but how did you—" Sora, realizing the situation, searched for a response until Larxene, who had expected something like this to happen, provided one. "I just found it in the library, you know, when we were looking for a book on barriers." Riku, with no other possible explanation (as far as he knew) nodded, "Alright, well as I was saying—" Kairi, looking slightly ill, had one more question, "Wait, so we're cutting and consuming people's hearts? Am I the only one who thinks that sounds a little, well, demonic?" "You're thinking of souls, a person's heart handles mana and emotions, as well as being the source of light and dark power. The soul is what contains a person's identity, we leave that intact." "Oh, well, I guess that's...a little better, thanks Riku." "Hey, I had trouble dealing with it too, as I suspect Sora did as well." 'I was busy being threatened by Larxene, I didn't have time to worry about it.' Sora thought, before he turned to Riku, "You were saying before…?" "Oh, yeah, as I was saying, our keyblades contain the equivalent of thousands of hearts. The whole group is equivalent than several dozen World Hearts. So, we'll need to gather a massive number to strengthen the shield sufficiently." Sora nodded excitedly, "So first we gather these keyblades, then I would suggest we gather our allies and try to free Yen Sid's prisoners, I'd feel a lot more comfortable with Vincent, Leon, or Cloud on our side." "We'll have to just get a few keyblades for now then, and focus on the rest later, after all Vincent is scheduled for "purification." Kairi, remembering something suddenly, spoke, "Hey, who was the other person Yen Sid wanted to trap?" "I think he said his name was A…Av….Abel! That was it, Abel Nightroad." "We should try to find him, if he managed to escape, then he could be a useful ally." Riku saw a flaw in the plan though, "How are we supposed to find him then?" "We should start at his world of origin." Kairi offered, but Sora countered, "And we should find that how?" **"Don't you remember? Vexen's files would probably list him, or did you forget?" ** 'Larxene, unlike you, I only have pieces of your memory, while you can see all of mine.' **"You think that is an excuse?!" **she 'shouted.' He could tell she was joking. He realized that, strangely, he wouldn't have known that a week ago. It was odd. He'd only known her for a few months, but he couldn't imagine not having her with him anymore. Returning to the task at hand he spoke, "I may know a way." He hurried to Vexen's room, explaining he'd seen the computer when he got the ether. Following Larxene's instructions, he typed in a search for "Abel Nightroad." After a few moments a result appeared.

Abel Nightroad (Nightlord)

Age: Unknown

Species: Vampire(Unknown Variety)

World of Residence: Terrarum Cruor

Alignment: Dark-natured, Allied with Light

Occupation: Priest

Warning: Extremely dangerous, should not be approached without caution.

"He is a rare variety of vampire, and also a priest. Am I the only one who finds that odd?" **'Hardly, but it isn't our prime concern.' ** The others seemed to agree with Larxene. Sora clicked on the world, "Terrarum Cruor." A map appeared before them, there was a suggested path which required one to pass through three worlds: the World of the Hidden, a world known as Zanmort, and lastly, the World of Balance.

Riku spoke with confidence, seeking to encourage the group, "Alright, first we'll gather the keyblades of those three worlds, and then we'll seek out Abel for assistance, alright?" "Right!" "Yeah!" As he declared his support (a little loudly) he could feel Larxene's excitement, it was nice to know that she was enjoying this, despite the danger and urgency. Feeling that was so comforting for him, that he didn't think to wonder why he could sense her emotions.

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An hour later they were gathered at the Altar of Naught and Sora was preparing to open a portal, he drew on his magic, just as Larxene had taught him. Filling it with the intent to rip apart the natural order of reality, he cut a rift in space-time and formed the portal. Riku and Kairi, once again, were staring. As before, Sora had exhibited an ability or knowledge that they weren't aware he had. Realizing the situation, Sora jumped through before they could respond, not noticing how easily his body flowed through the dark portal, as opposed to the past, when he had felt a resistance. Kairi and Riku quickly followed. On the other side, they found themselves in the first world, and the only one which there was an open path to. They seemed to be in a forest but there was a large town visible some distance away. It would take a day or two but they had to start somewhere, they began the trek.

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6 Hours Later

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Sarutobi, AKA 'The Professor', took the letter from the messenger falcon. Within was a message from the Kazekage. It seemed that the immense burst of chakra he had felt earlier that day, had also been felt in Suna, goodness knows, it should have been. It wasn't said outright, but it was clear that they thought it was a new weapon of Konoha, and he had no desire to change that belief.

The Kazekage was proposing an exchange of Genin as a move to ensure lasting peace—something that could only be a result of fear, as the two villages, while at peace, were hardly friendly. Hiashi wouldn't like it, but it would be good for promoting goodwill between the villages. He quickly sent a response in agreement.

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Hiashi Hyuuga was not always a kind man, and his relationship with his eldest daughter was rocky at best, but he was still unhappy to hear that she was being sent to Suna for a year to promote peace. Unfortunately, he could hardly argue, it was a reasonable and useful proposal, and preventing a war was as always the first priority. He grimaced and threw away the Hokage's letter. Reluctantly, he went to retrieve Hinata.

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A short time later the two Kages and their respective charges met for the exchange. Sarutobi was bringing Hinata Hyuuga, of the prestigious Hyuuga Clan; the Kazekage was bringing his only daughter, Temari. Temari was brought back to be placed with the Konoha Genin, while Hinata would take Temari's place in Suna.

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**AN: The meeting with Mizuki went the same as the canon.**

Naruto Uzumaki, soon-to-be Genin of the Leaf, was traveling to the academy to be assigned his team, he entered his classroom to a rush of inquiries about his presence, which is to say that Kiba could be heard shouting. "What the hell are you doing here?! You didn't even pass!"

"I took a different exam, a tougher one!" A slight "hn" could be heard from Sasuke at his shout. Iruka hurried to quiet the class, and began to list the assign the teams, in reverse order. (I'm skipping extra teams.)

"Team 10 consists of Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka; your sensei is Sarutobi Asuna."

Ino's head drops to her desk and a moan of "Saasukee…" can be heard.

"Team 8 is composed of Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, and Sakura Haruno. Your sensei is Yuuhi Kurenai."

Sakura imitates Ino.

"Team 7 is composed of Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and a newly arrived exchange student, Sabaku Temari. Your sensei is Nii Yugito, who has recently transferred from Cloud."

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Sarutobi watched, smiling. Naruto better appreciate how many strings he had to pull to get that girl, it wouldn't have been possible if everyone didn't think Konoha had a new weapon, but it had provided enough leverage for a threat or two. Having a Jinchuuriki sensei should make his life much easier. , and having anyone but Kakashi, even more so.

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A blond woman, her hair hanging loose, as was her preference outside of missions, walked into the room. She motioned sharply towards Team 7, and after a moment's hesitation they followed.

Leading them towards the roof, she sat down, and addressed the group, "In this village it is traditional to discuss ones likes, dislikes, and dreams. In my village there is a belief that comrades should have no secrets from each other. It is also our acceptance that information must at times be concealed, so we created a pair of jutsus, and in the tradition of my village, I will use these. _Kusari Enzetsu no Jutsu! Kusari Shin no Jutsu!"_ A field of energy expanded out from her, engulfing the group.

Nodding, apparently satisfied, she spoke, "Now no one who hears us may speak of it without permission, and none of us may lie until we leave the area. So I am going to ask you to answer a few questions. We'll start with you, the Uchiha. What is your name?" "Sasuke Uchiha."

"Your likes?" "Training."

"Who are your friends?" "I don't have—"He choked on his sentence, caught by the jutsu. "I don't want to answer this."

"Too bad, we don't have secrets between teammates."

"My only friend, as of right now, is-is-," he finally gave up resisting, "Uzumaki Naruto." "Why would you be MY friend I HATE y—" Naruto choked on his sentence, and resigned to dropping the act.

Smirking, Yugito moved on, "Your dislikes?" "I dislike ramen, wasting time, Sakura Haruno, Ino Yamanaka, and the rest of my fangirls. I despise my brother's betrayal." Yugito, understanding his evasion, let him off.

"What about your goals?" "I will avenge my clan and then go on to resurrect t it."

"Is that all you hope to do, is the clan all that you are?" "Ye—. " He choked, "No, I also want to establish a village, I hate this village. The people here are foolish and the government, with the exception of the Hokage, is corrupt. I hope to make a village for those who have been harmed or rejected by their own. If this village was as such, then Naruto wouldn't have gone through what he has, I wouldn't have been seen as nothing more than the last Uchiha, and, I can't help but wonder if Itachi would still have massacred the clan."

Everyone, including Yugito, was shocked. Naruto was staring, seemingly in horror, but there was a slight look of contemplation is his eyes…after what he'd been through, he couldn't help but wonder if Sasuke was right.

Temari was surprised, at first she started to dismiss it as none of her concern, but then she remembered Gaara. Would her little brother have become what he was if he'd had a place to go to, a way to escape the pain...she didn't know, but she thought he might not have.

Yugito, Yugito was much like Naruto. She had had a good life, her Bijuu hadn't terrorized her village, it had been tracked down and captured, so she wasn't hated, but she'd seen what happened to people who were rejected by their village, for one reason or another. It wasn't a pretty thing.

Sasuke wasn't quite done yet either, "Look at this village, Naruto is hated for something I'm not sure of, but Naruto couldn't have done something on a scale to deserve this. As for me, I may be treated like royalty, but did you know that up until today, no one has once asked about my goals beyond my clan, I **am** the clan in their eyes—well I guess I am in a sense—but what I mean is, they think my clan is the entirety of my existence. It's like there is no Sasuke, just Uchiha."

Naruto understood where he was coming from, what is worst for him, isn't being hated, it is being hated because they don't see him as anything but Kyuubi. Sasuke is only beloved by the village because he is the last Uchiha, not for his own identity.

Yugito, trying to relieve the tension for Sasuke's sake, spoke, "I think I understand what you mean Sasuke, and you don't need to worry, none of us are extremely loyal to the village. I'm a transfer. Temari is only here temporarily. Naruto is hated by it, and whether he agrees with the plan, I don't doubt he agrees with your beliefs. For now, let's move on. Temari, you're next. What are your likes?"

"Training, wind jutsu, and my fan."

"Dislikes?" "Idiots, fangirls, idiots, and anyone who tries to assassinate my brother."

"Friends?" "My little brother, Gaara—when he isn't homicidal, my other brother, Kankuro, and besides that, I'd say this group composes the closest things I have to friends, not that that is saying much."

"What about your goals?" "I want to help Gaara regain his sanity, and," she hesitated, "if Sasuke tries to start a village, I would like to help. It is the same problem you have here which drove Gaara insane."

Sasuke smiled slightly, before giving them a look that said, 'tell anyone I smiled, and I'll shove a kunai through your throat.' "I'll need all the help I can get, so you're always welcome."

Yugito smiled, she was glad to see them opening up a little. She continued where she left off, "Alright, Naruto, you're last. What are your likes?"

"RAM—," Naruto choked, "Oh, alright, Ramen is decent, but mostly, it's cheap. As I was saying, I like Sakur—," he choked again, "Dammit, can't I finish a sentence. Ok, so I don't like Sakura, but I know she'll always reject me, so she's the best person to obsess over."

"Why do you need someone to obsess over?" "I'll explain later. I like training, learning jutsus, reading (although I'm still not very good at it), and dropping my act."

By now, everyone, excepting Sasuke to a small degree, was confused, after all, what 'act' was he talking about? Since when did he not like ramen and Sakura? Who was Naruto Uzumaki?

"Umm…friends?" "This group, Iruka, and the old man…I mean…Sandaime-sama."

"Who would you say you are closest to?" "Sasuke."

"Goals?" "To become Hokage and reform the village, but I'm beginning to wonder if I should seek an alternative, I mean, if that worked, the old man would have fixed it already. Sasuke…Sasuke may have the right of it."

"If you want to help, feel free. It's too big for just me and Temari, besides, you are the person I trust most right now." It was clear Sasuke still wasn't used to having to be truthful, by his expression at admitting this.

"Okay, now, I need you guys to answer some…more difficult questions. Sasuke, do you think your brother may have been justified?"

"N-," he choked, "I don't know, but there had been rumors of an attempted ku de ta, and he would have followed orders if they were given by the council. I know the Hokage wouldn't order it, but that Danzo guy seems suspicious to me."

"Temari, why are you here?"

"I'm here to promote pea—," she choked, "I was sent to study the Leaf's new weapon, and see if it is safe to attack, a combined effort by Suna and Oto was planned up until now. We're considering withdrawing our support of the plan. I wouldn't tell you this if you could tell anyone else."

Naruto and Sasuke were staring in horror, but Yugito just nodded thoughtfully, "I thought as much, the Raikage thinks I'll report to him as well, but he should have considered the fact that giving _me _away isn't the same as selling my services. The real question here is, what are you going to do?"

"What do you think? I told you, I hate anyone who tries to assassinate my little brother, which includes our father! This village is full of idiots, that village is full of idiots who don't even care about _normal_ people, much less a Jinchuuriki. The people of Suna…I know two people in Suna that I care about: Gaara and Kankuro. Beyond them, I don't really care. I'm not telling _him_ anything."

Yugito smiled happily at the response, glad she wouldn't have to give the girl to Ibiki, "Alright then, I'd encourage you to warn the Hokage, but for now, let's move on." Yugito took a deep breath, preparing for the hardest question, "Naruto, why do the adults here hate you?"

Naruto's face had drained of blood; this was the one question he didn't want to her to ask. If they found out, his team would hate him…he would be alone again… "They don't hat—," he choked, "there is no rea—," again, "I'm not allowed to sa--," he gave up.

"They hate me because—because—they, they think I'm the Kyuubi." He cringed, waiting for the explosion, but none came. Sasuke was confused, while Temari had a horrified, but also sympathetic look, and Yugito—she clearly knew already, as she hadn't responded.

He continued reluctantly, "When Kyuubi attacked years ago, the Yondaime couldn't kill it; instead, he sealed the Kyuubi within a child, a newborn."

A look of comprehension appeared on Sasuke's face, and for a terrible moment, a hint of fear, before he returned to normal and spoke, "You were the child, weren't you?"

"Yes, I was."

"Well, it looks like I pick my friends well. After all, I'd rather have the Kyuubi's container on my side. Besides, once you get control of it you'll make a better sparring partner, eh dobe?" Naruto smiled slightly, "Thank you, Sasuke." This was muttered quietly, probably not meant to be audible, but Yugito caught it and smiled as well, "Alright, last question, then we'll call it a day. Naruto, why the hell were you trying so hard to lie about simple likes and dislikes?" "If I scare them, excel too much at anything, they attack me. They take any success as a sign of 'the Kyuubi showing its true self,' and decide that, with such evidence, they can get away with trying to kill me." Well, that certainly killed the mood. They said their goodbyes, each having a lot on their minds, and parted ways, Yugito tossing a pair of bells off the roof; she didn't think that they would be necessary after all.

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Riku P.O.V.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi stood before the central tower, looking for the 'Hokage,' who was apparently some type of village leader. They entered and were soon led to speak to him, although there _were _guards present.

The man, who they knew as 'Sandaime,' spoke, "So, who are you?" Riku, who'd been chosen to speak for the group, being the calmest by nature, introduced the group. "Now, please tell me, why are you here?" "We are searching for…an artifact you might call it. It is of substantial value to our group, and we would like your assistance in finding it." "So, what rank of mission are you willing to pay for?" Sora tried to hide his confusion, 'Missions? Payment? What type of village is this?" Riku, who was having similar thoughts, acted like he understood, "What would the costs be, this is our first time dealing with this village." Sandaime nodded, apparently having dealt with such things before, "It will be 2,500 Ryo for a D-Rank, 25,000* Ryo for C-Rank, 35,000* Ryo for C-Rank, 50,000* Ryo for an A-Rank, and 100,000* Ryo for an S –Rank. A D-Rank hires three Genin, good for minor tasks, but not really practical if leaving the village. A C-Rank hires three Genin and one Jounin, or three Chuunin; this is good for minor battles or skirmishes against normal mercenaries or bandits. A B-Rank will cover the equivalent of two Jounin, but could be composed of large numbers of Genin or multiple Chuunin. A-Rank is higher than B-Rank, and is usually all Jounin, and S-Rank has a larger or more elite force than A-Rank.

"We are lacking in funds (they have no clue how to convert their money, so they're effectively broke), but would it be possible to arrange some other form of payment for, say, a C-Rank. We aren't incapable ourselves, so we won't need too much help, mostly just someone who knows the area and can survive any conflicts between us and an…opposing group."

The Sandaime nodded, apparently vagueness was relatively common, and answered, "I would ask you to carry out a task for me, one to be carried out in trade for the mission."

"What type of task?"

"There is a group of individuals who may attack the village or attempt to infiltrate it soon. There target would be a Genin in our village, one by the name of Naruto Uzumaki, I need you to protect him during the upcoming Chuunin exams. I'll need you to impersonate Genin and take part in the Exam, as there will be places that higher ranking Shinobi can't go to protect him. They are all powerful and extremely dangerous. If you don't think you're capable—and it is nothing to be ashamed of, our own Jounin would have extreme difficulty, and likely be killed— then I can find another method of payment."

'Well they can't be worse than Organization XIII.' "That would be acceptable, but, before we finalize the deal, I would like to ask, why do they want this 'Naruto' person?"

"Are you familiar with the Bijuu?"

"I've heard of them, but don't know any details." 'Bijuu? What is a Bijuu?'

"Well, as you are probably aware, there are nine Bijuu, nine demons, who each hold immense power, their power corresponding to their number of tails. Fifteen years ago the Kyuubi no Kitsune, or Nine-Tailed Fox, attacked our village. The Hokage at that time, the Yondaime, sealed the demon into an infant, losing his life in the process. Unfortunately, that infant came to be seen as Kyuubi, and is hated by the populace. That boy is Naruto Uzumaki. The group is known as Akatsuki, and they are seeking out the Bijuu, although we don't know why. If Naruto is captured, they will have access to the strongest of the Bijuu."

Riku, understanding, speaks, "Alright then, we'll do what we can to protect him."

"Seeing as the risk is so great to your group, I will offer you compensation of another variety after you complete this task for me."

"Thank you, Sandaime."

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Sora POV

"Riku, what were you thinking! We can't go fighting a group on par with the Organization for something as minor as this! We should have asked for another option." "Sora, I would have, but that kid, and his Bijuu, this Kyuubi, will undoubtedly be essential to the Fate of this world, this way we can find the Keyhole and shatter Fate simultaneously. Hell, if we're lucky, we may even find the Wielder."

"Oh, I guess that **does **make sense."

"**Unlike **_**some**_** people, Riku thinks quickly Sora."**

Sora smiled, Larxene's insults had lost their edge, it was just friendly at this point, 'I'll have you know, that it is very hard to think clearly when I have my mind full of other people.'

"**You just keep telling yourself that."**

They were waiting outside the Hokage's office while the team for the mission gathered. Various individuals, all wearing a strangely marked headband, cycled through the room, and they were an interesting group indeed. **'Was that green spandex? You, we, **_**are**_** seeing things, right Sora.' **'I hope so.'

Five minutes later, a group of four people walked into the Hokage's office.

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Inside the office:

Team 7 had returned from catching Tora—again. The Sandaime was offering mission options, "You can either bathe and groom the Inuzuka nin-dogs, assist Ibiki in int—no, no, forget that one," he stopped, exasperated, 'Why does Ibiki always add that to the D-rank missions, Genin aren't supposed to be dealing with such things yet.' "As I was saying, you can go cook dinner for one of the civilians," 'These kids are supposed to be Shinobi, not a catering service.' "restrain and guard—er, I mean babysit my grandson, Konohamaru, or—."

He was cut off by Naruto, "Come on old man, we want a real mission, can't we go help Ibiki? Maybe you could give us a C-Rank?" Sasuke supplied an excited sounding monosyllable/grunt, Temari was still twitching from her discovery of the hell Leaf Genin had to go through, and small amounts of blue fire were flickering around Yugito(luckily, no one else had noticed).

Iruka, who had been doing paperwork, interrupted, "No Naruto, you have to understand, Genin have to do D-Rank missions before they move up to—." He was interrupted by a clawed hand courtesy of a rabid-looking Yugito.

The Hokage decided to spare the poor man's life, "Alright then, you have two options. First is an escort mission to Wave, you will be guarding an alcoholic bridge builder. Second is another escort mission, but there could be more powerful opponents to deal with and it the mission could continue indefinitely, as it is a mission to locate something, not simply reach a known location. You will be escorting another group around your age, but from what I can tell they are at least Jounin level. Your main purpose will to simply serve as guides, so don't expect much combat. Now, which will you take?"

Yugito didn't give them any choice in the matter, "I'm not going to put up with some drunken fool; we'll take the latter." Choice or not, the team seemed to agree.

"Alright then, I'll call in the clients."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora walked into the room to see three teenagers, a few years younger than him, and a woman who seemed to be in charge of the group. That would mean the kids were Genin, and the woman was a Jounin.

Sandaime spoke, "This is the team who will be escorting you, consisting of Naruto Uzumaki," the blond grinned broadly, 'So this is the Jinchuuriki.'

"Sasuke Uchiha," The black-haired one nodded seriously, reminding Sora of Riku,

"Sabaku Temari and Yugito Nii." He couldn't read Yugito and while at first Temari seemed disdainful of the three of them, he noticed that it looked a bit false.

"Let's head on to the gates then, we can discuss the mission there."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The group stood just within the gates to Konoha. Sora spoke first, "Alright, you're here to show us around, any major location could have what we're looking for at it, and no, you can't tell just by looking. We'll know when we find it. Now, I figure we can find it faster if we divide into groups. Riku and Sasuke, you search east, Kairi and Temari can search west, and the rest of us will search north and south. We can search the village tomorrow, let's focus on the forest for now."

The group members show their respective signs of agreement, and they set off.

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Riku POV

Riku was sprinting through the forest, sensing Sasuke in the trees guiding him. They came into a clearing. Before them stood a tree, said tree wasn't necessarily unique in size or shape. The thing which marked this tree was that the limbs were wrapped around an object, seemingly grown naturally into this shape.

Sasuke spoke from behind him, "This is the Kichuu Sakura, or Tree of Mourning. This tree was grown by the Shodaime as a tribute to his closest friend, whose coffin is held tightly by the branches. It saddens me to admit this, but this man was killed by my ancestor, Uchiha Madara, in combat. It is one of the lesser known, but most significant monuments in Konoha."

Riku fully expected One Winged Angel to appear at any moment, but it didn't occur, it seemed that this was not the place they were looking for. Still, he took a moment to pay his respects to the dead, then rose and spoke to Sasuke, "Sasuke, I'm surprised you brought me here, to a grave for your ancestor's victim, why?"

Sasuke shrugged uncomfortably, "I wish this hadn't occurred, but this is a true symbol of our lives as Shinobi. We kill, and we die, but it doesn't always mean we are heartless. My ancestor killed this man, but yet our clan came here annually to pay respects to one of our village's forgotten heroes. We kill from necessity as often as desire; it is the core principle of our society and profession."

"I believe, strangely enough, that this is right. This is a society where people grow, where we have to grow to survive, and I think that if we hope to succeed and be happy, then we must have a reason. We fight, we learn, we progress, and, through conflict, we become closer. Bonds closer than blood form. Even as individuals alone we succeed, we achieve our goals, and through this we all progress grow closer to our respective ideals. My ideal is not necessarily a peaceful world, but a fair one. One where each person progresses on their own merit, not on the bias of fools, or the political games of a council, but on their own talents and hard work. I want to create this world. I may never achieve that, but I will at least build a home for that ideal, a place where people thrive and grow without interference. In order to achieve that, I'll have to surpass my ancestor, who lost to the Shodaime, and the Shodaime, whose village has become impure. I'll have to surpass them all." Riku contemplated his words, sensing the passion and desire Sasuke tried to hide. Indeed he too had once sought an ideal. He had pursued the ideal of freedom, a limitless world without boundaries, and had found it. "Sasuke, I want to give this too you," he pulled an object from his pouch, enchanted to compress space. The object was a katana, the flat of the blade covered in runes. "This was given to me by my…teacher…to help me grow stronger. It helped me achieve my ideals; maybe it will help you achieve yours." He tossed it to Sasuke, who caught it by its hilt. "This is how it works…"

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Temari POV

She and the girl, (Kairi was it?) had been combing the forest blindly since splitting from the group. Honestly, what good was she as a guide if she didn't know the area? Unfortunately, it hadn't occurred to her beforehand.

The girl spoke, "So, your names Temari, right?"

"Yeah, what of it?" "I was just curious, why do you carry that fan?"

Chuckling at the question, she answered, "This is my weapon, I can use it combined with chakra to create gusts of wind." "Could I see it?"

Proud of her fan, she quickly complied. "So, why the circles?"

"It was a training exercise. In order to learn the proper technique you have to learn the primary widths to open it to. They are often referred to as the first, second, and third moons."

"Temari, I think I may be able to help you some, if you'll let me."

"What are you talking about?" How was this girl supposed to help **her** with her fan technique?

"I know a decent amount about seals, so I think I could open some new doors for your techniques, if you'll let me modify your fan's design slightly?"

"I don't know…" "If you don't like it, I can use a jutsu to undo it."

After a moment of thought, Temari reluctantly agreed, "I'll give you one chance, and only one." She hesitatingly handed over her beloved fan.

Kairi took out a brush and created a peculiar pattern on her fan in black ink. The pattern worked its way around and integrated with the moons, the entire time she was chanting and runes were noticeable in the ink. The pattern was organic-looking, not quite plant-like, but not composed of hard angles either. It reminded Temari of the wind, the currents and patterns she felt with her chakra, and had learned to alter and manipulate for her techniques. The girl drew a flask containing a strange, greenish substance and went back over the pattern with it. Temari could see the wind interacting with the pattern, seemingly of its own accord.

Kairi smiled, seeming satisfied, and handed it back. "Here, try one of your techniques."

Temari opened the fan and performed Kamaitachi. A strange feeling accompanied the movement; she felt additional energy flowing into the technique from the pattern, seemingly from the wind surrounding her.

The simple move became a flurry of destructive wind blades, slicing apart trees where it struck. The blades, in the past invisible, were now a outlined in a faint green. She stared amazedly at the scene of devastation. "How-" She was at a loss for words.

"It gathers mana, a form of energy similar to chakra, from yourself, where it lies untapped, and from the inherent wind-natured mana in the wind. This is stored and then released through your technique. Now, it is important to understand something, this is actually a seal that works in stages. The first stage activates when you reveal the first moon and, in turn, the first section of the seal. It allows you to gather mana from the wind, in a sense the wind itself, into the seal. The second allows you to unleash it. The third is the part I'm most proud of though. It allows you to leave the mana dormant in the air, the technique's power being stored there. When you close the fan-or more accurately-return to the second moon, where the energy is released, the dormant mana is unleashed, allowing you to prepare attacks before hand, then activate them from a distance or at the proper time."

Temari was awed. The things she could do, the techniques she could create-! "Thank you, thank you so much!" She very nearly hugged the girl, but that wasn't something she wanted to be seen doing, so she bowed politely and smiled, trying her best to convey her thanks. They started moving again, the silence, previously cold and uncomfortable, now companionable. In her mind, Temari was mulling over new techniques.

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Sora POV

The remaining group members were being lead by Naruto, who had been informed that Sora had been told of his tenant. Eventually, they arrived at a large pillar, carved into it was a statue of the Yondaime, smiling benevolently. At the foot of the statue was a plaque. It read,

Here lies Minato Namikaze

Brave Leader, Caring Teacher, Powerful Shinobi, and Savior of Konoha.

May his sacrifice be remembered for eternity.

Naruto spoke, "This is the place where the Yondaime breathed his last breath after defeating Kyuubi."

Sora, nodded solemnly, understanding the significance for the village **and** for Naruto. He touched the uncarved portion of the pillar as he paid his respects, and pulled his hand back. "Naruto, this isn't stone, this is…"

"A fang of the Kyuubi, placed here by the villagers in his memory. Even now Kyuubi is straining for this fragment of his body, I can feel him fighting the seal."

"I wish I could help you with your burden."

"I do too, but this is something only I can do."

"**He may be wrong about that Sora, we can't help directly, but… do you still have that book?"**

'What book?'

"**You know very well which book. I mean the one you were hoping would give you advice on getting me to cooperate and tell you who else you've absorbed."**

Sora cringed; he'd hoped she hadn't known that. Still, she had a point. He pulled said book from his pocket, "Here Naruto, I don't know how much it will help, but you should at least look over it." Naruto took the copy of "_Listening to the Voices: A User's Guide to Sealed Demons, Angels, Spirits, and Others" _that Sora had found in Zexion's library.

"I hope it helps you."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Naruto POV

He looked at the book Sora had given him, but as he prepared to open it, was interrupted. "Naruto, I need to talk to you." He turned to find Yugito indicating he should follow her. He did so as she shot into the forest, moving just slow enough to track. They stopped in a clearing, and she turned to face him. "Naruto, it is time that you learn to control the Kyuubi, to use its power."

"And how am I supposed to do that?!"

"The same way I do this." Yugito suddenly was enveloped in blue flames. Naruto panicked and lunged to save her, but was stopped by her hand. From inside the flames, Yugito was smiling at him, "Don't worry, I'm fine. You see, I was made into the Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekotama to be a weapon for Kumo. I will be training you once you can use Kyuubi's power. Now, I want you to go back to camp and try to meditate and get in contact with the Kyuubi. Find a way to gain access to its power. Next time we have an opportunity I'll educate you in wielding a Bijuu's youkai. Naruto nodded and returned to camp.

As he prepared to meditate, he remembered the book from before. Grabbing it, he opened the book.

_This book was written for the purpose of assisting the innumerable minority of people who have become a container for a supernatural being. Now, before continuing to read, please apply the being's mana/chakra/youkai/other form of energy which it controls or is composed of to the seal below. _

An intricate seal was just below the text, and Naruto, for once, figured out how to get the youkai. He quickly took a kunai to his hand, and then ran the cut across the seal, supplying it with the chakra used to heal the wound. The book glowed momentarily. He turned the page.

_You are the container of a youkai, not to be confused with (what this book terms as) a demon. A youkai is not an essentially evil being. In this, they are much like humans. A demon is a being which devours souls, youkai are simply called demons on occasion do to the fear of humans._

_Now, as the container of a youkai, there are certain guidelines that should be followed when communicating with it. First, you should be respectful, youkai are generally very proud. Second, do not be submissive; if they think you're weak or fearful, they will not work with you. Speak to them as an equal, a person you acknowledge and respect, but don't see as above yourself. Third, when working with a youkai, always make a deal. Youkai are many things, but oath breakers they are not. You can trust a youkai to keep their word. A warning, it is their __**word,**__ not what you think they promised, but what they __**did**__ promise. Lastly, remain calm; if you make a fool of yourself it is the same as acting submissive. If you grovel, you're telling them you're weak; if you undignified, they think you're trying to hide your weakness._

_One other thing, please understand that a youkai's behavior varies between individuals, indeed, this book's information is based off the testimony of only a few youkai, the main contributor being a dog demon of notable power—and even more notable arrogance._

_You're particular youkai is a fox youkai, and if I'm not mistaken, a Kyuubi. Now it is worth mentioning that you should __**not **__address him or her as Kyuubi, as this is a title, not a name. You should address one of this rank as "Kyuu Jisannin" or "Bearer of Nine." This is the proper title for the position. In addition, one should, although it may seem strange, wear an illusion upon meeting him. This is because failing to do so suggests that you look down on him as one who is too harmless to bother concealing one's true self from. This would be overlooked in this situation, as you contain him, and thus __**are**__ safe, but will doing so nevertheless is a sign of respect. The illusion should be strong, but not excessively so. Not so strong as to suggest fear, but not so weak as to seem mocking. Also, as a side note, a false name is sometimes used, and may be considered polite. Yes, I am aware that this is all quite odd, but it is the byproduct of the Kitsune personality. They are a balance of bloodlust and mischief, and also take pride in their illusions and deceptions._

Needless to say, Naruto, who called the Hokage "old man," was already despairing of success. If he tried to be respectful, he'd probably fail miserably! After a few more minutes of reading, he nodded weakly and began to meditate.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Naruto's Mindscape

Naruto opened his eyes, and sickeningly, found his mindscape to be a sewer. Was he really this messed up, that his mind would take this disgusting form. Shaking it off, he walked through his mind until he felt a presence.

Remembering the instructions of the book, he quickly performed one of his better illusions. It was the true basis for the Oiroke no Jutsu. The classic henge only created the appearance of something else. More advanced forms modified sound and scent as well. The version that he created simulated all three, but it also simulated touch and solidity. It fooled the brain into thinking it had made contact, and even reacted to outside stimulus. The illusion wasn't terribly difficult to dispel, but otherwise was indistinguishable from reality. The illusion even forced the other individual's muscles to stop acting on "contact." There were flaws of course, most notably the fact that it couldn't stop things from passing through it that weren't alive or couldn't stop themselves, although he was toying with compressing air as he did with Kage Bunshin.

When the smoke cleared, he was about six feet tall, had forest green eyes with slit pupils, and silver hair hung down to his chest. He wore a silver yukata with black trim, with a black metal chest plate. On the back of the yukata was the Kanji for hope. His features, once somewhat rough, now resembled Sasuke or his brother's more. His features were now fine and precise, as if each bone had been carefully created by a master artist. He'd even adjusted his bone structure to lend a natural coldness to his gaze, in hopes of seeming more dignified. On his forehead a green four-pointed star was visible. Finding his appearance correct, he stepped into the room.

Looking calmly at Kyuubi, he spoke, doing his best to remain calm in the face of the massive fox. "Kyuu Jisannin, I greet you."

The Kyuubi looked at the being before him—although he must be the container, he certainly seemed different. This being had addressed him properly, even appeared properly before him. What was going on?

"My name is Soseimaru, and I would like to make an agreement with you. I need access to your power, and would like to offer you a contract for this."

Kyuubi, who was slightly impressed by the false persona, decided to respond properly, as opposed to what he had had in mind for his jailer originally. He spoke calmly, "What do you offer for this?"

"I offer you my eyes and my ears. I offer you a chance to see the outside world again."

Kyuubi contemplated the offer, it was a reasonable exchange, but conditions had to be set. "I will agree, but I will only offer power below a single tail. Anything more than that will be denied you."

Soseimaru looked calmly and smiled almost imperceptibly, "I agree." He quickly envisioned a scroll stating the terms of the contract and it appeared. He quickly signed it and slid it through the bars.

Kyuubi, taking a human form within the concealing blackness, took the contract and read over it thoroughly. This Soseimaru (he didn't know his jailer's real name, the contract had absorbed the blood after being signed) was smart; he'd prohibited possession or any attempt to influence his personality. He must be left mentally stable while using the power and the power must be his to use at any time, not only on particular occasions. Kyuubi nodded to himself and signed. He tossed it back through and returned to his fox form.

Soseimaru took it, and, seeing that it had been agreed to, nodded. He gestured towards the wall and the world became visible. Admittedly, the world consisted of his eyelids for now, but it was there. Kyuubi in turn gathered up a large amount of youkai, just short of a tail, and pushed it into his container's body. The youkai created a pool for itself in his body, alongside his chakra, and Soseimaru vanished from his mindscape.

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The Next Day

Team 7 had met at the gate with Sora, Riku, and Kairi. Yugito addressed the group. "I must apologize to our clients, but the mission will have to be delayed for a short while. The Chuunin exams begin in exactly one week, and I want you ready for them. It is up to you whether you compete or not, but if I know you then you will. If you want to compete, please return these forms by the exams." She handed them the forms, which none of the team hesitated to sign on the spot and return. Yugito smiled, and training began.

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Sandaime addressed the Jounin before him, "Who will recommend their students for the exam?" The three Rookie teams' senseis stepped forward and recommended their teams. Iruka objected immediately, "No, they're just kids. They aren't ready for this, I am their sensei and-." He was cut off by Yugito, "You **do** remember what happened the **last** time you argued with me, right?" Needless to say, the Chuunin shut up. The Hokage allowed the Genin to enter, and was surprised when she handed over the papers. "The students actually have to agree, you can't just sign them up yourself." "They already agreed, I asked them just before arriving." Somehow, the Sandaime wasn't surprised.

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Exam Day

The three travelers were already in the antechamber before the exam room, and team 7 was entering the building. Quickly slipping past the false entrance, they entered the antechamber. As soon as they stepped foot inside, Sakura and Ino squealed and abandoned their teams, latching on to Sasuke. Temari, irritated with the incompetence of the Konoha kunoichi, pried Ino off and tossed her at a nearby Kiri nin.

Hinata, who had arrived with Temari's siblings, watched Sakura—the girl who Naruto-kun was always chasing; the girl who refused to acknowledge him beyond a punch—latch on to Sasuke right in front of Naruto, felt her blood heat. Walking up behind the girl, who had her arms wrapped around Sasuke's shoulder, she activated the Byakugan and closed off a few choice tenketsu. The girl dropped like a rock.

She quickly lifted Sakura up my the collar and handed her to Kiba, with a glare that just screamed, "Control you teammate." However, it may have been something more along the lines of, "If you can control Akamaru, then you can control this one too."

She heard someone behind her. She happily spun around to accept Naruto's thanks—and froze. Sasuke Uchiha, the frozen demon of Konoha, smiled at her and spoke, "Thank you for that, I can't stand those two." Hinata, who was still in shock at the slight act of kindness, reverted back to stuttering, a habit she'd broken in Suna, "Um…um… your welcome?" She made it sound a question. Sasuke turned and walked back, while Naruto flashed her a grin. She smiled, she was glad he was happy with her actions.

She walked back to her team, smiling at Gaara; who, shockingly to most, nodded back at her respectfully. Kankuro shrugged uncomfortably, he was still freaked out by the lack of sand coffins.

A silver haired Shinobi walked over to the rookie nine and the Suna Genin, smirking. "So, you're the new Genin this year?" Kiba grinned widely, "Yeah, we are, and we are going to beat the shit out of everyone here! You got that?" Naruto couldn't help but wonder, if he hadn't dropped the act, would he be the one saying this?

The Shinobi chuckled, "I bet you are," he said condescendingly, "but how about I help you out a bit. My name is Kabuto, and these are my Nin info cards. I can tell you about anyone in this room, mission details, specialties, you name it."

Surprisingly, it was Hinata who spoke, "Neji Hyuuga." "Your cousin? Well, alright." He poured chakra into the card and data appeared. "He has completed six c-rank, three b-rank, and one a-rank mission. The last being with more than one team of Genin involved. He specializes in Hyuuga clan techniques, including certain main-branch techniques he has managed to replicate. His ninjutsu and genjutsu are virtually nonexistent however." Hinata nodded.

The next question was from Gaara, "Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha." "Your sister's teammates, huh? Well, let's see. They've both taken part in two dozen D-rank missions, and are presently midway through an A-Rank." Naruto's eyes widened, "A-rank? We were told it was C." "Apparently the rank has been changed since then. Now, as I was saying, Uchiha specializes in Uchiha-clan fire techniques and is excellent in all area, but I have virtually no info on anything since the academy, looks like it's been kept pretty quiet. Uzumaki has poor skills overall, but there have been periods during which this ceased, and he performed on par with Uchiha. His specialty is the Jounin-level technique, Kage Bunshin. Oh, I almost forgot, recently there have been signs of advanced wind jutsu being used by him, but all I have there is hearsay."

Sakura, who had finally awoke, as usual, scoffed at the idea of Naruto being capable, "You got your information wrong, Naruto is the dead last, a complete loser, you **really** think that he knows a Jounin level jutsu." Needless to say, she got another sample of the Jyuuken.

Ibiki interrupted their conversation for the first exam.

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Sora POV

The first exam was a written one, and Sora had no clue about any of this. He was just glad Larxene was there.

"**Alright, number one. If a kunai is thrown a 40 mph at a nin who is 50 feet away, performing the hand signs for Kawarimi at 90 signs a minute, while an enemy kunai is flying at 55 mph towards a point 7 feet from the enemy nin in hopes of intercepting the kunai, will it hit the target? If it does, will the target perform Kawarimi in time? If it does not, how fast would it need to be moving to hit the target before the Kawarimi is finished? After answering the above questions, if the kunai killed the target, list three ways to stop it time from the perspective of a 4****th**** individual 60 meters from the target. If it failed to hit him, list three ways to guarantee it hits."**

Sora was already confused, but felt Larxene nod and she began listing answers.

Riku POV

Riku connected his mana to the shadow of the false student's pencil, and then created a connection, causing his own pencil to follow the same pattern. He replicated the feat on Kairi's as well.

Sora POV

After Ibiki's warning about the tenth question, Sora watched, grinning, as Naruto broke Ibiki's carefully crafted tension and the intimidation tactic dissolved.

"Your examiner for the second exam w-" He was cut off by breaking glass. A banner stood at the front of the Room, proudly declaring Examiner for the Second Exam: Mitarashi Anko! Before said banner stood the woman herself, and Sora couldn't help staring a bit. He could tell Riku was having the same problem. After all, who wouldn't stare? She was wearing a beige trench coat, a miniskirt, and some fishnet, nothing else. Now if she would just shift just so-**"GET YOU MIND OUT OF THE GUTTER!"** Oh, right, he had Larxene in his head.

Anko instructed the group to meet at the Forest of Death the next day.

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Sasuke POV

As the bell rang for the exam to begin, Sasuke shot into the forest beside his teammates. He knew his team could move at full speed for hours on end, unlike some of the other teams who's member lacked stamina. As they headed for the center of the forest the group kept an eye out for other chakra signatures. About half way to the tower, an extremely potent one appeared, they shot off to avoid it by silent mutual consent. It seemed to have seen them though, as it was growing closer. Suddenly a gust of wind struck the group, but before they could be blown away, Temari quickly flicked her fan to the first moon, draining away the wind's mana, and in turn draining away its strength. The group quickly blurred into a defensive formation as an immense snake shot forward. Naruto shot at the snake, gathering a small portion of his/Kyuubi's youkai and used it to strengthen his attack, struck its head, launching it back a short distance. From there Sasuke took over and roasted it with a Goukakyou, dispelling the snake. The summoner, a grass nin by his headband, stepped from the shadows, "Very good, Ssassuke-kun. Now, let us begin." His head shot towards Sasuke, who sidestepped it and stabbed kunai into the nin's neck. The fatal attack seemed not to faze him though as he changed directions, hoping to disable Temari. Naruto met him with a glowing crimson arm, and squeezed down on his head, the nin's skull shattered, and he collapsed—and promptly disappeared. Naruto immediately knew, "Kage Bunshin, look out!" The warning was too late for Temari who was hurled into a tree and knocked unconscious by the nin, who was presently wrapped around a tree—multiple times.

Sasuke threw several kunai, which were easily dodged. He sprinted forward, and sliced at the nin with his katana. It was dodged, but just in time for Naruto to hit the nin with a wave of youkai—pure youkai. In moments, the nin's skin had melted away, revealing a new face under the old one. This one was serpentine, his pupils slit, and killing intent enveloping the entire area. Both Genin were immobilized momentarily, and that was all the time the nin needed to seal off Naruto's chakra, leaving him unconscious. Sasuke was about to stab himself and break free when the nin's head shot for his neck. Moments from impact, the head froze—literally.

A feminine voice echoed from the shadows. "This is your last chance to stop, or I'll have to kill you." A deep masculine voice followed, "Why are you giving him a warning, just behead him and get it over with." Another followed, slightly higher, "Really Kairi, I don't think this is the time to be polite." Sasuke's eyes widened as he registered the name, "You guys get out of here! You can't beat him!" Riku melted in from the shadows behind him, quite the feat considering he'd been on the other side of the clearing just a moment ago. Gesturing towards the nin, black flames flew towards him, but were overcome by a signless Katon jutsu. Too bad for the nin that it was a distraction.

From behind a kunai shot into the clearing, piercing the nin's shoulder, but doing little harm. He laughed, "What was that supposed to be?" The laughing cut off as lightning leapt from Sora to the kunai, sending the nin into screaming convulsions, writhing about in pain, unable to escape. He collapsed. Sora stopped shocking him, believing him dead, when the body crumbled away.

The nin reappeared, looking exhausted, "I can't believe I had to shed my skin because of someone like you!" His neck extended for one last shot at Sasuke, but before he could bite he disappeared spontaneously thanks to a 'warp' spell from Riku.

Riku spoke to Sasuke as he dug a heaven scroll from the remains of the shed skin, looking slightly disgusted, "Alright, we both have both scrolls, let's get your teammates to the tower. He waved a hand and a dark portal appeared.

He gestured for Sasuke to follow as they carried Naruto and Temari through. Sasuke, deciding to trust them, hurried through. They appeared inside the tower where, after Kairi cast a pair of Curaga spells to bring Naruto and Temari semi-conscious, Sasuke and Riku opened their teams' scrolls. Iruka and the Sandaime appeared. Sasuke looked at the Sandaime. 'Why is he here, I thought it was supposed to be your sensei.' Sandaime seemed to realize Sasuke's question, "I'm not their sensei, but I **was **the one who entered them in the tournament, so…" Sasuke nodded as Sandaime trailed off.

Riku spoke to Sandaime, "You were right, there was someone else there. He moved strangely, like a snake. His eyes appeared reptilian, and his hair was black, hanging to his shoulders.

Sandaime sighed sadly, "That would be my old student, Orochimaru. Was anyone hurt, beyond the obvious I mean? "

"No, he tried to bite Sasuke, but was intercepted before he could do so."

Sandaime was relieved, 'So he didn't receive the curse mark, thank goodness.' "Well then, settle in and rest up until the end of the second exam. You're the second and 3rd team to arrive, after your brother's team." He said, indicating Temari.

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Two days later, the time limit ended and the remaining examinees, consisting of the keyblade wielders, the rookie nine, Gai's team, the Sand team, and the three Sound teams, met for the final exam. This however, was not to be, and the preliminaries began.

The Hokage spoke first, "Now, if anyone wants to stop now, feel free to, these battles will be dangerous, and death is quite possible. There will be no intervention if the opponent is not defeated short of dying, and a fatal attack is used. Do you understand?" When no one responded, he continued, "Alright then-" He was cut off by Sakura Haruno, "Hokage-sama, I'm forfeiting, I'm not ready yet." At the Sandaime's nod, she left.

The Hokage began where he left off, "Let us begin the preliminary rounds!" The Genin walked onto the observation deck above the arena and watched the screen flicker through names. If finally stopped.

**Shikamaru Nara vs. Zaku**

Shikamaru sighed heavily, and with a muttered "Troublesome…" jumped into the arena. Zaku was standing there waiting for him. He just shook his head, "Let's get this over with."

"Don't worry it will be over in moments."

The match began.

Zaku pointed his palms at Shikamaru, the steel pipes imbedded in his arms channeling chakra forwards, "Zankuuha!" Shikamaru's eyes widened and he leapt out of the way, the edge of the blast catching his shoulder and throwing back. He caught himself and flipped back onto his feet. Zaku blurred into existence in front of him, and raised one palm. "Zankuuha!" The torrent of sound burst from his palm….straight into the wall.

"Kagemane no Jutsu, success." Shikamaru had latched on to Zaku's shadow with his own and redirected the blast. He quickly reached behind his back and pulled a kunai from a hidden sheath, holding it to Zaku's throat, Zaku imitated the motion, but lacked the kunai to make it significant. Shikamaru spoke, sounding bored, "Give up, it would be really troublesome to have to kill you." Zaku was happy to oblige, and Shikamaru returned to the observation deck.

The screen flickered through combinations once again, finally stopping on:

**Tenten vs. Kin**

The girls jumped into the arena and the battle began. Tenten opened by throwing a few dozen kunai and shuriken at Kin, who blocked a few with senbon, and dodged what she could, but still took a kunai to the shoulder and had numerous cuts from shuriken. Tenten prepared to finish the battle, pulling out several more kunai, and then stopped. She suddenly felt dizzy, her vision was blurring, and she was presently counting a total of fifteen copies of Kin. The Kins spoke, "So, which one is real…which one is it safe to attack, and which one will kill you if you miss." Tenten made a desperate last attempt, throwing shuriken at every copy. Kin took a couple cuts, but the genjutsu finished Tenten off before Kin collapsed from blood loss, winning the match.

The screen started up again as the two were carted off. The next match was shown to be:

**Uchiha Sasuke vs. Rock Lee**

Sasuke leapt into the arena and faced his opponent. Lee was wearing the most hideous green spandex—actually the only green spandex—he' d ever seen someone wear(he hadn't seen Gai yet), had an equally hideous bowl cut, and, well, he wasn't even going into the eyebrows. Of course, this was all tossed aside once Lee spoke, "LET US HAVE A YOUTHFUL BATTLE, MAY THE MOST YOUTHFUL MAN WIN!"

One more moment and Sasuke just knew he would hemorrhage, so he interrupted with a kunai. Lee jumped aside and shot towards Sasuke, seeking to engage him in Taijutsu, but was instead forced to dodge a Housenka no Jutsu courtesy of Sasuke, who didn't want to get to close the older Genin. Unfortunately for Sasuke, Lee wasn't taking no for an answer, and quickly charged back in before Sasuke could stop him He threw the first punch, but leapt back when we he wasn't blocked by a fist, but by a katana.

Sasuke was holding the katana that Riku had given him, hoping to negate the option of Taijutsu, but wasn't so lucky as Lee leapt over his head…and dropped his weights. Sasuke just barely avoided the deadly projectiles, leaping away at the last minute, and then moving to block Lee's newest assault. Lee appeared in front of him without warning, a fist hurtling at his face with enough force to shatter his skull. Sasuke dodged aside and used the technique Riku had taught him in the forest on their mission. He remembered their lesson…

"_Sasuke, this sword has the ability to draw on a person's inner darkness in order to strengthen them. There are three primary categories of technique, the first is known as the "Blade of Ambition" this draws power from your ambitions, your goals, to strengthen you. The stronger the ambition fueling it, the stronger the technique, but if you lose sight of your goal, if you hesitate, there will be a backlash, so you must only use technique when you have no doubts about you actions, if you're afraid or unsure, it will only hurt you in the end._

_The first technique breaks a limit on your mana, a so called 'Mana Chain.' If you use it to long though, it will drain your mana supply dry and likely kill you. Mana is much like chakra, but it isn't compatible with Jutsus, seeing as it has no physical component, just a spiritual one. It can be used to strengthen the body though, by amplifying your physical energy."_

"_Is that all it can do?"_

"_No, there are techniques it can be used in, but it would take to much time to teach them now, so I'm going to help you improve what you can already do, which is fight physically. I'll teach you a bit about the Blade of Ambition and the other categories, and then help you with your swordsmanship a little."_

_Sasuke nodded, excited._

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Sasuke focused on his goal, to defeat Lee. The bigger the goal was, the bigger the backlash would be if you lost focus. Then he mentally cut the Mana Chain with the sword. '_Blade of Ambition: Severing of the First Chain!' _He poured mana into his body and disappeared, reappearing behind Lee and slashing him across the back, leaving a bloody cut, but failing to incapacitate Lee, who had moved at the last moment. The audience was trying to stare, but having trouble finding something to stare _at._ From the stands, Gai shouted, "YOU HAVE MY PERMISSION LEE! LET YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY!" Lee nodded and focused, then called out the technique, "FIRST GATE: GATE OF OPENING: OPEN!" Lee sped up drastically. Now moving at approximately the same speed as Sasuke he lunged, sending his foot into Sasuke's chin and launched the prodigy up. Lee materialized behind the Uchiha—who was replaced by a log.

As Lee fell towards the ground alone, Sasuke appeared beneath him. "Blade of Ambition: Ascendant Dragon!" He launched Lee back into the air at a forty-five degree angle with his sheath, before appearing under Lee and launching him at the same angle, in the other direction, further into the air. He knocked him further up until Lee reached the center point between the two previous strikes, and flicked through hand signs as he materialized above Lee and used his jutsu, "Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" To the onlookers the technique created a draconic image. A serpentine pathway of flight, followed by an all consuming flame from the 'Dragon's Head.' Lee fell to the ground scorched and unconscious from the pain, but still alive.

The proctor called the match as medics arrived, "Winner: Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sasuke returned to the viewing deck, ignoring the stares of the other Leaf Nin, including Kiba, who decided he needed to yell his comments instead of keeping his mouth shut. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT! He's one of us, a Konoha Ninja! Does that mean nothing to you! He could have died! How dare you, you bas-!" He was cut off by-surprisingly to many-Naruto, who had slammed Kiba into the wall, "Shut up you mutt! It doesn't matter where he's from; this is a competition where we compete individually! Villages **don't** matter, and if you **ever** talk act like that to one of **my **friends again, I will beat the **shit** out of you until you are eating from your dog bowl through a **straw**!" His eyes were glowing crimson and the killing intent was tangible. Luckily, Naruto had enough control to hide it from the others in the room, and while Kiba was scared to death, he just nodded shakily, while the other Genin gaped.

Naruto drew back, his rage subsiding. In his mind, Kyuubi chuckled, unheard. **'This one is very protective, I guess when you feel this alone, anything which threatens those close to you can set you off. It's strange, I really can't see Soseimaru doing this, but they must be the same person. Either way, it will be useful if I hope to escape later…'**

The next match-up appeared as the Jinchuuriki calmed down.

Naruto Uzumaki vs. Kimimaro Kaguya

A white-haired boy with a pair of red dots on his forehead appeared in the arena, his red-rimmed eyes gazing at Naruto, who leapt down after him. The battle began as Kimimaro's finger tips ripped open and small bones shot from the open holes, knocking Naruto back and leaving him bleeding.

Naruto responded by creating a few Kage Bunshin which proceeded to hurl dozens of shuriken and kunai at Kimimaro. They were easily avoided by the Kaguya, who launched more bones at Naruto, who dodged and then charged.

Kimimaro met the charge by ripping his spine out, blood gushing from the wound before it closed, and swung it at Naruto. The Uzumaki leapt back and used a Jutsu that Yugito had taught him. "_Raiton: Raibokei!" _

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Above, Sora watched; as he saw something appear momentarily, then disappear from his senses. However, Larxene saw as a field of electrical energy appeared. The arena was now home to paths of charged particles, the perfect way to guide an electrical charge. Below, she could see the young Shinobi release lightning-elemental chakra along the paths, and understood. By creating that matrix of electrical energy, he could strike any point with a small amount of energy. If he used too much though, he'd probably overload the system and electrocute himself as well.

Below, Naruto watched as the chakra he'd released reached Kimimaro, whose muscles locked up under the steady stream of electricity. Naruto shot forward while he was immobile and moved to finish Kimimaro with a kunai, but was stopped by a plate of bone appearing over Kimimaro's chest—his target. The kunai snapped, but Naruto didn't stop, drawing Kyuubi's youkai and sending his new claws straight through the bone plate. His hand came away soaked in blood, but he'd avoided making It fatal, instead merely severing some major arteries. It could be healed, but only if the battle was ended now, not later. The match was called as Kimimaro collapsed and the medics rushed him to be treated. Naruto vanished in a burst of youkai, reappearing beside his team and releasing the youkai simultaneously. Sakura looked terrified, and Naruto couldn't deny that it hurt a little. The crush had been false, but he had hoped she might at least think of him fondly. Hinata seemed a little shaken, but smiled weakly and did her best to be encouraging. Shino nodded at him calmly, while Kiba had an odd look in his eyes. Temari was the worst though; she looked scared—not of him, but for him. He knew she was seeing Gaara at that moment, not him. The screen switched to the next match-up.

Shino Aburame vs. Kidoumaru

Shino appeared in the arena, as did a fairly averaging looking Shinobi (so a little violent and insane)…well, if you ignored the extra arms at least. The match began as Shino sent his Kikai bugs, hoping to drain Kidoumaru's chakra, but was met by his natural enemy—a legion of spiders. The swarm met the horde and a scream was heard—no one was worried, they knew it was Sakura, not one of the combatants. Kidoumaru launched webs at Shino, who drained their chakra with his Kikai bugs, and then cut them with a kunai. The war raged for about and hour, with neither side falling back, until Kidoumaru was caught from behind as numerous scattered insects from around the room suddenly swarmed and latched on, draining his chakra until he collapsed, his summoned spiders doing the same.

The next match-up appeared as Shino returned to the viewing deck.

Sakon vs. Ukon

The twins immediately surrendered—how were they supposed to fight each other? Ukon could be heard muttering, "Damn Kimimaro, "_We're short a team member-sign up separately." _Now I don't even get to fight._"_

The next match was between Gaara and Dosu. The two entered the arena, one via sand shunshin, the other just jumping in. Gaara extended his hand, and before Dosu could move, he found him held in the air, wrapped in a cocoon of sand. Gaara half-closed his hand, "Give up, now." There was no sign of any merciful desire, no kindness, no fear of killing, just an offer of escape. Dosu nodded and was released. As Gaara returned to the deck, ignoring Temari's stare, Hinata was virtually glowing as she smiled at her teammate. Gaara spoke to her, "Is that what you wanted?" "Yes, thank you so much Gaara-kun." She smiled at him and there was an almost invisible hint of reciprocation by Gaara. The screen revealed the next set of combatants:

Temari vs. Kankuro

The brother and sister stepped into the arena, neither speaking. This was a place for battle, not conversation. Kankuro threw a poison smoke bomb, which was blown back into his face, a fact that he blatantly ignored. This told Temari that the outer Kankuro was the fake, while real one was wrapped up on his back. She sprinted forward and opened the fan fully, swinging it at point blank range, but generating no gust. Next she used her fan to glide behind him as he braced himself for the nonexistent wind technique. Behind him, she repeated the maneuver. Realizing what had happened, Kankuro exited his wrappings using a kunai, placing Karasu between himself and Temari. He sent the puppet at his sister, its body breaking apart to wrap around her, in hopes of crushing her. The puppet was inches away when she smirked and brought the fan back to the second moon with a snap of her wrist. Her first swing's gust drove Kankuro towards her, while the second was a Kamaitachi, slicing at Karasu and wounding Kankuro, who had collided with the puppet. She placed her foot on the throat of the fallen Kankuro, who forfeited. He looked at her oddly before walking away. After congratulations from her teammates, the next match began.

Kairi vs. Jirobou

The redhead jumped into the arena to fight the sound nin. As the fight began, he immediately enclosed her in a dome before she could react, slowly draining her chakra.

Within the dome, Kairi was finishing a chant, she pointed towards the wall, _"Shakkahou!" _The wall cracked—and then reformed. Growing angry Kairi prepared the strongest spell she knew and pointed at Jiroubou, whose mana she could sense:

_**Bone of a straggling beast, spire, crimson crystal, disc of steel, when the wind shifts, and the emptiness ceases, let the clash of lances resonate through the relinquished castle! Hadou Sixty-Three: Raikouhou!**_

_**A wave of lightning leapt forth, uncontrolled and all-consuming, slowly filling the dome, unable to pass through. Kairi, realizing her mistake, slowly forced it under her control. She focused the energy towards Jiroubou and pierced the dome—and then Jiroubou himself. She quickly released the kidou and the medics Jiroubou away, she returned to the viewing deck, a little shaken from nearly killing a human.**_

_**Riku rested his hand on her shoulder comfortingly, hoping to relieve some of her uneasiness. The screen declared the next match and Kairi gasped, terrified. It read:**_

_**Sora vs. Riku**_

_**The two nodded to each other and leapt into the arena.**_

_**As the match began, they took it slow, keeping to basic swordsmanship, Savage Nymph and One Winged Angel meeting in midair again and again, each blow always blocked by the other blade. **_

_**It began to speed up, as Sora's Firaga met Riku's Dark Aura fireball. The two canceled each other out, and Sora just dodged another fireball in time to call down a Thundaga. Riku caught the bolt on One Winged Angel and hurled the electricity at Sora, who caught it in his palm, absorbing it. Riku followed up with a Darkga spell, calling Darkness up to bind Sora, who switched the Savage Nymph for Oathkeeper and blocked the spell with Light energy before switching back. **_

_**The battle was now going full force as some of the Genin collapsed from the huge amounts of mana in the air. Riku called out all his Darkness, the cloak from the arena reforming, while Sora wet the keychain of the Nymph's Blade, summoning Larxene's organization cloak and powers, although sparing them both the stress and side-effects of integration. Lightning struck at Riku from out of nowhere and shadows cut at Sora, leaving him bleeding. The remaining Genin were finding it hard to breathe, and many seemed rather terrified. Jounin could be seen assembling protective barriers to prevent collateral damage. **_

_**The battle reached its climax as a shadow-cloaked blade met a lightning charged one, the mana released by the clash striking the barriers, Darkness and Lightning writhing against invisible walls. The Genin were staring intently, some in awe, some in frozen horror. The Jounin were having to struggle to maintain the barriers. It seemed that they would all die. **_

_**Suddenly, it stopped. The two stood alone in the arena, both clearly exhausted, gasping for breath. They charged one last time. A wave of Darkness radiating from Riku's fist enveloped Sora as he slammed an electrically charged palm into Riku, overloading his nervous system and knocking him out as Sora was forced unconscious by the shadows.**_

_**The judge declared it a tie and both were marked down as a loss, despite the…impressive…performance.**_

_**The next battle was between Hinata and Neji Hyuuga. The pair both leapt in and fell into their Jyuuken stances. Neji looked into Hinata's eyes 'Where is the hesitation, the fear, she seems so different…' The battle began without a word.**_

_**The two sprinted forward, each using Jyuuken, but neither actually harming the other. Suddenly Hinata leapt back and fell into a stance that was familiar to Neji. She was using a normal Jyuuken technique, but had found a way to adapt it only moments ago. "**__**Jyuuken no Rai: Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" **__**She trapped him in her field of Divination, much to his dismay and struck. Neji had determined that he'd take the first two hits, then move when she prepared for the next four, but his plan fell apart when he felt more than a Jyuuken strike. The technique also brought and electrical surge, so it attacked his nervous system and organs through both the chakra system and by physical means using electricity. The strike left him immobile for a moment or two after each as his neurons overloaded, preventing escape. When she finished the combo with a palm to his forehead, Neji collapsed unconscious. "Winner, Hinata Hyuuga!" Gaara nodded towards her and spoke, "Well done." She smiled at the praise, and then blushed brightly as Naruto shouted his congratulations to her as well, followed by more subdued support from Sasuke. She made a mental note to think Sora for inspiring her technique. The screen soon showed the next match-up, Choji Akimichi vs. Kiba Inuzuka. **_

_**Choji immediately attacked with his human boulder technique, which dodged before countering with a Jujin Bunshin followed by Gatsuga, which was launched in time to meet the human boulder. The clash knocked all three unconscious, and they were both marked down as a loss. It was time for the final pair to enter the arena, as the screen stopped on:**_

_**Ino Yamanaka vs. Tayuya**_

_**Once the two landed, the battle began. Tayuya struck immediately with Genjutsu, but they were canceled by the Yamanaka heir, who responded with several kunai, but missed with all of them. Tayuya laughed, and prepared her next song, only to be cut off as the kunai circled back around, restraining her. She was already nearly free when the Shintenshin no Jutsu hit and Ino entered her mind.**_

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_**Ino looked around at the room she stood in. It was a pleasant, simple room with wooden walls, throughout the room there were musical instruments, all polished and shining. Sheet music was neatly stacked throughout, some finished, some half-written. Everything was well taken care of and perfect—with one exception. Resting in the back of the room, hidden, was a case, within which rested a familiar flute. The box was covered in strange, angular markings, which flickered like flames. The flute inside was covered in a black mist, she could see scratches covering the once polished surface, dust covering the delicate instrument. **_

_**Ino inhaled sharply at the sight. She'd been taught to recognize the symptoms when within a person's mindscape. The flute was incredibly important to Tayuya; it was a part of her identity, and to see such a thing happening to it could only be one of two things, insanity…or possession. If it was insanity though, the whole mindscape would be damaged, not just this, so that left possession, and not the type Ino used, but long term, damaging possession. She immediately began to do as she had been taught. It was the single most important rule her father had taught her. "If a person's mind has been violated or damaged, then fix the problem before doing absolutely **__**anything**__** else." She recited under her breath. Now she just had to figure out how. She started, thinking aloud. "Alright, this is an instrument, which means that in here her identity is interwoven with music…if I can reinforce her natural characteristics, then that should weaken the hold on this aspect." She looked around the room for what she needed, and soon found it. On a shelf she found a piece of paper, balled up. She unfolded it, and found what she expected. It was a piece of sheet music, entitled simply, 'Tayuya.' In the mind, this was a common thing; one thing symbolized the person herself, while another recorded the person's identity throughout her life. In order to fix this kind of problem, the first option was to find the record and re-invoke the person's identity as recorded. A possession could only affect the person; not this kind of record, as it was simply data. By reminding the person of the recorded identity, the possession would weaken. It helped that this wasn't a full possession, so the person was still aware—just heavily influenced and altered by the possession. Hopefully this would allow her to interact more deeply with the affected portion of Tayuya's identity. She moved a nearby piano, which she had been taught to play as a child, and placed the sheet music on the stand. Taking a deep breath, she began to play.**_

_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**_

_**Outside, Tayuya began to shake slightly.**_

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_**The music was in full swing within Tayuya's mind, and there was a slight change around the flute case, the mist was thinning out. Ino played, pouring all of her effort into the music, devoting herself to what she'd been raised to do. She struck the final note victoriously, and the mist disappeared. As Ino examined the case, the marks and damage were still there, but at least the flute was free of the mist. **_

"_**Alright, then the next step is…" She carefully grasped the case, avoiding the marks, and pulled. The case didn't move an inch. She looked at it again, and noticed that the marks stretched down onto the podium as well, anchoring the glass case. **_

_**She sighed; she'd hoped to avoid this. She began the next, most dangerous, step, and wrapped her hands around the markings, her hands flowing through the case to grasp the marks. She slowly pried them off the case and podium. Once they came free, they writhed in her hands, feeling solid, before beginning to dissolve—lacking anything to feed on. Suddenly, the last fragment latched on to her arm, and she screamed.**_

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_**Outside, Tayuya convulsed as a purple mist poured from her body, slowly dissipating. Above, Orochimaru watched, worried. He didn't think his seal could be broken—but it appeared to be happening. Suddenly Ino's body, lacking a mind, screamed. Intricate lines appeared on her arm, and began to expand over her body. **_

_**:::::::::::::::::::::::**_

_**Ino pulled against the mark, trying to dislodge it, but it held on tight, her eyes wide in panic and despair overtaking her as the possession progressed; a flash of light filled the room. On the podium, the flute had begun to play, the case containing it shattered, and the song 'Tayuya' bathed the room.**_

_**Suddenly, a hand shot out and grasped the mark on Ino, pulling it from her flesh and crushing it ruthlessly. Ino looked up, and found her opponent standing beside her. The redhead was grinning brightly as the last remnants of the curse seal vanished. She spoke, "Thank you." Ino smiled back, then vanished, her jutsu having timed out. **_

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_**The pair awoke in the arena, where Tayuya's curse mark had disappeared from both herself and Ino. Both struggled to their feet, and Ino drew a kunai. She had done her job, now she had to win. Before she could move, Tayuya spoke, "I forfeit; I'm out of chakra. The…events…just now have left me exhausted." Ino was nearly gaping and started to get angry at the charity, when she realized it wasn't a lie. Tayuya was visibly panting, and Ino could barely sense her chakra. She nodded, and the preliminaries ended.**_

_**::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**_

_**The contestants descended to be assigned their match-ups for the finals. The results showed the first matches to be:**_

Shikamaru vs. Gaara

Kin vs. Temari

Naruto vs. Ino

Shino vs. Kairi

Hinata vs. Sasuke

The Hokage spoke, "You all have one month to prepare for the final round, so go forth, train hard, and strive for victory!"

The contestants left the room, followed by the others who were present and conscious. The training was about to begin.

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The next day Team 7 had joint training, and Yugito had a look on her face which roughly translated into: "I hope you brought anesthetics." She addressed her team, "I'm very proud of all of you, now that you have reached the finals, it is time to prepare. I encourage each of you to seek out help from other individuals besides me, as I am not capable of giving you each specialized training, and can't set aside two of you for the sake of another. So we will train together every three days. Now, the first thing today is this, I have constructed an obstacle course for you—yes I know, it seems pretty pathetic after the Forest of Death, but I didn't do it alone. I got help from an acquaintance of mine; you may remember her, Anko Mitarashi." They were scared now. "All who survive will take part in a spar with me. If you fail to make it through, I hand you over to Gai." The Genin of Team 7 twitched simultaneously, the viewing deck had been bad enough, they were **not** training with him. "If you lose to me in less than ten minutes, I hand you over to Anko," they were staring at her in horror, and her smile widened, "and if you win, I'll teach you all some Raiton jutsu." The team nodded shakily, it was risky, but the reward was worth it. She lead them to the obstacle course, which, she had failed to mention—was in the Forest of Death, they entered and began the course.

The three traveled as a group, avoiding the kunai, shuriken, and trip-wires well, until they were about a quarter of the way through, then some of the kunai came with explosive tags, one knocking Naruto into a tree, with Sasuke just barely pulling away from a cloud of shuriken in time.

Sasuke, now more worried, launched a Goukakyou down the course, burning away a large number of traps, only for a virtual wall of kunai to fly at him from the far end, having been triggered by the fireball. Temari stepped in front of him, bringing up a tornado to protect them, deflecting aside the kunai.

The group continued on, avoiding the various weapons, but were stopped halfway by a massive snake, presumably summoned by Anko. It lunged forward before anyone could respond, its mouth closing down on them—only to be wrenched open by a seething, youkai-cloaked Naruto, who promptly tossed it back into the forest. The group reached the end after a series of several more ordeals, including several similar snakes, numerous Genjutsus and an explosive tag minefield. The exited, only to be attacked by Yugito with a Raiton: Rairyuudan. The dragon struck Naruto, who just managed to call up youkai, which blocked most of the blast, allowing him to attack Yugito immediately, scratching her slightly, but doing nothing else. She ignored the cuts in favor of appearing behind him and knocking him across the clearing, only for her to take a Goukakyou from behind, which the Nibi's youkai absorbed as she called it out. Flames leapt from her, seeking Sasuke who only barely evaded. Temari meanwhile had sent a Kamaitachi her way, finally landing a strong hit and pushing Yugito back quite a ways, as well as opening several small wounds.

Yugito smiled to herself, they were getting better, but....she leapt at Temari, grabbing her shirt with her claws and throwing her at Sasuke, knocking them both into Naruto, who'd been moving to attack after recovering from their earlier exchange.

Sasuke decided to stop holding back, and cut the mana chain. He blurred into existence in front of Yugito, swinging at her, but was dodged and caught by a blow to his back, launching him away from her. A youkai covered Naruto caught him and inclined his head towards Yugito, Sasuke nodded, and they charged. Yugito dodged Sasuke's katana, only to catch a wave of Naruto's toxic youkai, burning her arm. She grimaced, and made to counter, only to be stopped by Temari's fan striking her arm.

The match continued until the time limit. In the end, the group survived, although just barely and each received a jutsu scroll.

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Time skip—The Final Exams

**AN: Other training will be revealed during the exams**

The exam began as Gaara appeared in the arena, cutting off the nearby conversations. Naruto decided to play the part this time and pushed Shikamaru in, while his teammates shook their heads at it all.

The battle began and the sands pursued Shikamaru, who retreated. He knew that he restraining Gaara couldn't stop the sand, so Kagemane wasn't an option, so instead…as the next sand wave approached, Shikamaru set off an exploding tag on the sand, the heat melting it into glass. The glass was vibrating as Gaara tried to control the melted sand, and Shikamaru knew it would break down into sand again soon, so he acted quickly, flooding the area Gaara occupied with exploding tags attached to kunai, and dived into the dust cloud in the wake of the explosion, hoping to strike put one on Gaara himself before the Jinchuuriki could react. He stabbed the kunai at Gaara—and felt his sand strike his arm. As the dust cleared, Shikamaru found sand flowing from the edges of the arena and binding him, then forming the coffin. He immediately forfeited. He returned to the stands.

Kin and Temari filed in, Kin throwing kunai as the match began. Temari, anticipating this, sprinted forwards and slammed her fan into Kin's head, putting her whole body into it, knocking the Sound Nin unconscious immediately.

The proctor blinked at the quick finish, then called the match. Kin was carried to the medic wing, while Temari returned to the stands.

Next were Naruto and Ino. As Naruto walked in Ino spoke, "So it's me and the dead last, well _this_ will be easy." She knew that it would be anything but easy, but an angry opponent was a vulnerable one, and Naruto was prone to anger. Unfortunately for her, it didn't work. Naruto quoted his closest friend, "Hn," and the match began.

Naruto lunged forward, his youkai cloak glowing around him, lashing at Ino with his claws, he was right on target—and then the world went black.

He looked around, seeing nothing. He was awake; there had been no impact or moment of darkening vision. One moment he could see, the next he couldn't. Ino's voice echoed from the darkness, "So, how do you like it, this is one of my family's jutsu, which was given to us by the Shodaime Hokage. It's called _Kokuangyo no Jutsu, _or_ 'Bringer of Darkness.' _Do you like it?" Behind him, Naruto sensed something; he spun around to see nothing, until it struck his youkai. It was chakra that, unlike normal chakra, felt like Ino. Not like Ino's chakra, but like Ino was running towards him. Not taking any risks, side stepped, then grabbed onto the chakra with his Youkai. He examined it more closely, and his eyes widened. This **was** Ino, her mind at least. So that made it some kind of possession technique, her mind to override his. He smirked mischievously, and poured a few drops of youkai in.

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Ino felt a jolt, as if the jutsu had succeeded, only to see a strange person step from the darkness, silver hair resting on his shoulders. The person—creature spoke serenely, but with a slight edge to his voice, "I wouldn't recommend trying that again if I were you, things might get violent. Now, I'm afraid that it's time to return to your body."

She felt herself ejected from wherever she had been, and looked around. She was in the arena, with a kunai at her throat, she knew that the Kokuangyo would break down, but she should have possessed Naruto with that Shintenshin, not been caught by that entity. She forfeited and they returned to their seats, Ino staring off into space, still confused.

The next match began, and Shino and Kairi entered. Shino immediately sent a swarm of Kikai at the redhead, who were burned by a series of Firagas. Kairi followed up with a Shakkahou, striking Shino head on, and ending the battle as knocked unconscious by the explosion.

After that was over, the last fight of the first round began. Sasuke appeared in the arena from the stands, glad he wasn't later or he would have missed his match. It started with Hinata charging him, palms alight with electricity, and tried to hit him, he sidestepped and knocked her off her feet with the hilt of his Katana, before stabbing down at her with his sword. She rolled out of the way of the descending blade. Then caught him in the back with her palm, he recovered in time to dodge the next blow, but was being pushed back. His black eyes followed her movements, trying to see where she was aiming, then suddenly began to burn. HE threw his hand over his face, trying to stop the pain, and took a Jyuuken strike to the side. He hurled himself back, and slowly the pain stopped. As Hinata charged, he saw her move just an instant before she did, and dodged. His eyes, now read with two tomoe in each, watched her movements and he countered. He brought his sword up to the back of her neck. "Forfeit now, I don't want to hurt you." She nodded, thankful, and did so. They returned to their seats, and the second stage of the Final Exam began. Gaara and Temari entered the arena, Temari looking slightly scared. Gaara spoke, "Temari, you should quit now, I don't want to fight you." She smiled sadly and shook her head, "I'm sorry Gaara, but I can't give up now."

He nodded and raised a hand, a wall of sand pursuing his sister. Temari just blew it away with a gust of wind. She then opened the fan fully, swinging around herself in a way similar to a dance, before launching a mana-strengthened Kamaitachi his way, green blades cutting through the sand shield and striking his armor of sand. His eyes widened and he grimaced, a dome of sand covered the two combatants, hiding them from others, and within Gaara called up a smaller dome, enclosing Temari from all sides. He spoke to her, "Please Temari, surrender now, I don't want to kill you!" She smiled within the dome, but it quickly became a confident smirk. She brought the fan down to the second moon, "_Sensujutsu: Kaze no Tama!"_ A sphere of wind, formed by her earlier swings, roared around her, the mana unleashed, tearing away the sands that would soon crush her, and leaving her brother vulnerable, while at the same time a group of stored Kamaitachis were launched at him. He brought up his armor of sand at the last moment, then caught her in a sand coffin. She forfeited, her last option exhausted.

As they returned, the next combatants entered the arena. The most anticipated round(by the two at least) was about to begin, as Sasuke and Naruto appeared in the Arena.

Immediately, the youkai cloak formed around Naruto, and Sasuke severed his mana chain. The unleashed power was mildly affecting some of the Genin, although it was nothing compared to Sora and Riku. The civilian watchers, however, were having some trouble breathing.

Sasuke made the first move, swinging his sword horizontally, creating a black blade of mana in the air, which flew towards Naruto. Naruto cut through it with Youkai-infused claws, the remnants flying by, as he shot towards the Uchiha. Shards of crystallized youkai flew from the cloak as Naruto gestured, but were deflected by Sasuke's katana. Then Sasuke spoke, "Dark!" A tendril of Darkness ripped its way from the shadows of the arena, grabbing on to the Jinchuuriki and holding him in place for the next attack. The Uchiha flicked through hand signs, then launched a Goukakyou at Naruto. At the last moment, Naruto cast his own spell, learned from Sora, who had only recently relearned it himself, "Aero!" The flames burned around the wind spell, but then began to absorb the wind mana. Naruto followed up with a Reflect spell, deflecting the flames. He charged at his brother, and quickly hurled a kunai, wrapped in an Aero spell. Sasuke blocked it, but was still cut by the spell itself, leaving small wounds across Sasuke's body. Sasuke launched another pair of black blades at Naruto to stop his approach, then Dark Mana and, remembering Hinata, Lightning Mana into his right hand, until shadowy electricity engulfed it. He charged, aiming to strike Naruto and finish the battle.

Naruto, having seen the blades in time, summoned a Kage Bunshin, who used its Youkai to deflect the blades. Naruto gathered Youkai and Wind Chakra into his fist, charging to meet Sasuke.

Their fists met in midair, the conflicting energies engulfing the center of the Arena. Slowly the waves of energy gave way and a sphere formed in the center, destroying the land beneath it. Within the sphere, the brothers shook hands before a village that neither knew, but both cherished.

The sphere broke down, and when the smoke cleared, both combatants lay on the ground, unconscious. Yugito, Riku, and Sora appeared to carry them off. Sasuke looked up at Riku, barely awake, as was Naruto, and spoke faintly, "Did I do well, Riku-sensei?" The older boy looked down at his student proudly, "You did very well Sasuke, _very_ well." Sora looked at his student, grinning widely, "You did great too, I'm very impressed, Naruto. At this rate, you'll be Kage in no time!" Yugito could be heard whispering congratulations to them as the five left, with Temari waving from the stands and cheering.

Unfortunately, things weren't over yet, as Kairi entered the arena to meet Gaara. The match began, and Kairi opened with a spell, "Eruptio Ignis!" the same wave of flame that she'd turned against Aqua burned its way to the Jinchuuriki, his sand shield melting into glass as fast as it could rise to protect him. It engulfed the shield and was about to strike him, when he screamed. Flame-like markings spread from his neck, engulfing him. Shukaku's form overtook his own, slowly growing to full size. The Bijuu launched a barrage of Air Bullets at Kairi and the nearby crowd. The redhead cast a particularly draining spell, "Doshimaku!" A dome of earth similar to Jirobou's enveloped the Inside of the Arena, leaving her trapped inside alone with Shukaku. The next air bullet hurtled for her, but was met with a powerful Mighty Guard spell. The burst of air flowed around her, doing nothing. She countered with one of the strongest spells she knew, hoping Gaara would survive, she recited the incantation in full, then called out the name, "Kurohitsugi (Black Coffin)!" A black box appeared around the Shukaku construct, a massive number of blades piercing it. The devastated Tanuki emerged, and then slowly began to reform. Kairi, near exhaustion, tried one last spell, "Niveus flamma, exuro omnis insquequo illic est nusquam!" Pure white flames, roared throughout the dome, melting away at Shukaku, turning the entire construct into liquid glass. Kairi's Mighty Guard barely held it off, and moments before it reached Gaara, she cast a Warp spell on him, dropping him in the hospital with Riku and Sora.

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The two in question were moving to stop the rampaging Shukaku and free Gaara when he appeared next to them. They relaxed, until his eyelids opened, revealing the eyes of Shukaku. Just before things got messy, Hinata ran in. Sora called out, "Hinata! Run, we'll hold him off!" She ignored him, then sprinted over and struck Gaara with Jyuuken in his stomach in neck. His eyes returned to normal, and he collapsed. They looked at her, "What did you do?" "I created the technique for Naruto-kun a long time ago, when I first found out about the Kyuubi—please don't tell him that I know—but never had to use it. When I met Gaara though, the Shukaku was constantly tormenting him, he thought it was his dead mother, and couldn't sleep. He nearly killed me the first time we met. So, during a sparring session, I chose to fight Gaara, which was apparently something only Temari had done in the past. Baki and Kankuro, tried to warn me, but I ignored them. I activated the Byakugan and charged. I got caught him in my Divination field and blocked the Tenketsu that Shukaku was pouring Chakra through. It left the Shukaku unable to interact with Gaara. Honestly, Gaara panicked that first time and tried to kill me. I'm just glad he was still in my Divination field. Eventually we managed to calm him down. That was the first night he'd slept peacefully and un-possessed."

"In how long?" Sora asked.

"It was the _first_ night." The boys' eyes widened, slightly shocked.

Riku nodded in sudden understanding, "So that's why you two get along so well…"

"Yes, he's like an older brother to me."

"What about his neck?"

"I don't know, but there was this purplish chakra coming from it."

Riku bent over Gaara, examining his neck and shoulder. Three comma-like markings rested in his skin, they were surrounded by red marks from the Jyuuken.

Hinata continued, "I just did the same thing that I did with Shukaku, you should tell the Hokage, maybe he can explain." They went with the idea, grabbing Gaara and taking him outside, looking for Sandaime, but something was wrong. The arena was in chaos Sound nin attacking everything in sight alongside…no. Sora charged out summoning his keyblade he leapt towards the enemy, slicing it mercilessly in half. At his feet lay the fading remnants of an Unshadowed. Above, he could see the Sandaime fighting Orochimaru, a four-pointed barrier formed by Kimimaro, Kidoumaru, Sakon and Ukon, and Jiroubou keeping others out. Riku sprinted for it and Sora left to fight heartless and find Kairi.

Riku intercepted reached the barrier and extended One Winged Angel, opening it with the power of a keyblade. He quickly ran in, as the door closed behind him. Orochimaru had just summoned two of the other Hokages he recognized from the mountain. The first—the Shodaime he supposed-created a forest around them. While the other attacked Sandaime. The old man was holding up, so Riku charged at Orochimaru, and the Keyblade met Kusinagi. A vicious duel began as the two fought back and forth. He could sense the Hokage's fighting behind him. Orochimaru, looking desperate, moved to finish the battle. He performed a jutsu, his hands blurring as signs were formed, he hissed out the name, _"Kokuangyo no Jutsu." _Riku found himself staring into darkness, unable to see anything. Orochimaru hissed in the darkness, "You can't escape, you will die now!" There was no sound, no light, no warning, and Orochimaru struck. Kusinagi stabbed towards Riku's back from the Darkness. Riku smirked, leaping in the air, and came down on Orochimaru, cleaving both of his arms off with a single swipe from One Winged Angel. His voice came out calm and relaxed, "You thought you could defeat me in the Darkness? You are a fool." He taunted the Sannin as Dark Flames engulfed the Serpent and Riku himself. Orochimaru writhed in agony, while Riku seemed to be in a state of euphoria, bathing himself contentedly in Darkness. Outside, the Shodaime and Nidaime stopped fighting, their connection to Orochimaru severed by the Darkness Riku had summoned, and then broke down, leaving Zaku and Dosu's corpses behind. The Sandaime relaxed, it was over.

Orochimaru shed his skin and disappeared from Konoha, returning to Oto with his the remaining members of the Sound 5 and Kin.

Riku emerged from the Darkness, no longer the Kokuangyo, but his own creation shortly after, looking more alive than he had since the battle in the Stadium. However, he found no sign of his two companions. He found at that they'd pursued someone into the forest moments ago, and he followed them.

Sora and Kairi were fighting valiantly against the one who'd lead the attack, Terra. He was holding them off easily with that armor though, and they could feel defeat approaching. Moments later things changed as Riku burst into the clearing, black flame still flickering across his skin, and grabbed Terra by the throat, lifting him off the ground with pure Darkness, and then immolated the General in Dark Fire. As the flames burned, Sora prepared to add his power, summoning all of Larxene's and Roxas' remaining power, along with his own, creating a raging sphere of Light, Darkness, and Lightning, which her hurls at the suspended General alongside a "Twin Lotus: Blue Fire Crash Down" from Kairi. The General fell to the ground burnt, convulsing, and with arcs of light and darkness appearing occasionally on his body. The trio relaxed, it was over. They turned to leave—and were blown back by a shockwave. Terra stood and spoke, "Well then, let us begin." He summoned his keyblade again and charged hurling boulders at them. Sora dodged, but couldn't move as the keyblade came down towards him, blood covering his body and, luckily, a keychain in his pocket, Savage Nymph disappeared and was replaced by a different keyblade. In his hand, the Bond of Flame burned.

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Sora's Mindscape

Sora looked around, Larxene was on the ground, unconscious from exhausted, while Roxas was panting on his knees, he was the only thing keeping Sora moving right now. He barely noticed either when he saw who was in the middle of the room, a grinning face framed by spiky red hair looked at him, "So…you finally figured it out did ya? It took ya long enough. I won't ask about Larxene, although I hope she hasn't driven you too far off the deep end yet! So, you need my help kicking this guy's ass?" Sora smiled and nodded at Roxas' old friend, while Roxas was staring in shock.

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Outside his mind, flames leapt up around Sora and he hurled a flaming chakram at Terra, then appearing behind him, and saying softly, having slightly integrated Axel's personality, "My name is Sora. S-O-R-A, got it memorized?" He then slammed the chakram into Terra's back igniting it mid-motion, and knocked him into a nearby boulder. Riku and Kairi had apparently been knocked unconscious by the boulders so Sora didn't try to hide anything. He called up pillars of fire to engulf Terra, and succeeded. The general was looking much worse for wear now, and stumbled back as the chakrams hit him again. He thrust out a hand, and a shining doorway appeared behind him, he pulled himself through, barely escaping a wall of fire. This time, it really was over.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora looked over the village from the top of the Hokage monument beside Kairi and Riku. They couldn't wait any longer, if Terra brought reinforcements, the village would be doomed. They had to leave before it could happen. Temari was off training, she'd decided to stay until her Team became Chuunin, while Hinata remained in Suna. The relations between the villages were growing stronger due to Suna's lack of voluntary participation in the invasion (Gaara's curse seal being involuntary). Kakashi was training Sasuke to use the Sharingan, as well as a few other things, but Riku thought that he'd regret it sooner or later—Sasuke was ravenous for knowledge and power, and would outgrow Kakashi eventually. Naruto was off with Jiraiya, seeking the retiring Sandaime's replacement, his student, Tsunade.

This was the best time, they'd come back for the World Heart later.

Riku waved a hand, and a portal appeared. As they were about to step through, Sora glimpsed a figure in the distance, a girl with black hair wearing an Organization cloak—brilliant blue eyes gazed back at him. He heard Riku's voice, "Come on, Sora!" He looked over, "Just one second." He turned back, and the girl was gone. He followed the others through the portal, a contemplative look on his face, "Who was she?" he muttered under his breath.


	6. Chapter 6 Part 1

I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Naruto, Trinity Blood, or anything else besides the plot of this story and things which do not appear in any canon.

* * *

The Nymph's Blade-Chapter 6

"talking"

"**Larxene, Axel, or Roxas talking from mind"**

"Larxene, Axel, or Roxas talking in mindscape"

'**Larxene, Axel, or Roxas thinking'**

'Sora thinking'

* * *

The trio walked through the corridor between worlds, the grey of nothingness surrounding them. Looking over at Kairi, Sora placed a hand on her shoulder—she tried to hide it, but he could tell how hard it was for her to be here after being kidnapped by the Organization.

Picking up on what he was thinking, Axel sighed within his mind. **"Sora, it was…well, we thought it was necessary at the time. We needed you to keep fighting and strengthen Kingdom Hearts. She was the best way."**

'You thought you needed to kidnap Kairi just to make sure that I didn't quit? You all knew that I was fighting for a higher purpose, to protect the worlds from your actions. Why was it necessary?! Really, why?!'

He realized his mental voice was now a mental shout, and tried to control himself, but it was hard. The last year had been hellishly peaceful, and yet Kairi was still bothered by it! How could they have done something like that so lightly?

Axel raged back at him, **"Did you **_**ever**_** consider that we didn't think that there would have been any 'higher' motivation at all! Sora, as far as we were concerned you were moving based on a personal grudge for interfering in worlds where your old friends lived! All we were trying to do was regain our hearts, damn it!"**

'And that gave you the right to potentially destroy thousands of others and attack the people I was close to!'

Larxene, who had been quickly scanning Sora's memories in the background, suddenly rounded on Axel, slamming him into a crystalline pillar (which had conveniently risen from the floor of Sora's mindscape for that very purpose). "You're lying you bastard! You were always calling him Roxas, calling for him! You didn't kidnap Kairi to give Sora motivation, you were trying to lure him to The World that Never Was and bring Roxas back! Don't try to write this off as some necessary evil Axel, you were just trying to bring back your old friend!"

Axel, surprised by the source of the rebuttal, still managed to respond kind**, **"First of all, who wouldn't try to save a person that they considered a brother! Secondly, WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE! Larxene why are _you _arguing with me?! This is between ME and Sora! Kairi wasn't _your _friend; _you_ never had anything to do with the situation at all! So why the HELL are _you_ shouting at me!"

Larxene's eyes widened as he said this, and she staggered back, bracing herself on a suddenly appeared glass wall. **'Why **_**do **_**I care, it isn't like I knew her.' **A flashed through her mind—

_Kairi smiled from her seat on the papau tree, as Larxene lay in the sand, the sun shining down, the bright sea waves lapping at the edge of the beach. Riku waved at her, laughing as he ran over towards them with a wooden sword. Kairi grinned down at her, "So, what do you want to do today?"_

The scene faded as Larxene gasped in horror. **'No, no, no! That-that wasn't me! That was him! I shouldn't care-it was never me back then, always-always him! So wh-why do I care?' **Her mind struggled to reconcile her two sets of memories, pulling in different directions as it tried to make sense of the conflicting data.With a scream of terror and mental pain she collapsed to her knees, scene after scene flashing through her mind.

Axel didn't stop, advancing he spoke again, ignoring her breakdown, "See, this isn't your problem so leave me alone Larxene! Just shut the hell-!" Before he could finish the sentence a torrent of lightning hurled him back into the pillar where he slid to the ground. Blinded and deafened by pain, he heard someone shout. He struggled to stand, but found himself frozen, paralyzed, **'So that's how you want to play it Larxene, well fine I'll show you.' **His thoughts came to a halt as his vision returned and his eyes widened.

Larxene was on the ground sobbing, her head resting on a black robed shoulder. Kneeling beside her with his arms wrapped around her was Sora whispering words of comfort to the terrified girl. It wasn't Larxene who'd attacked him, Axel realized, it was Sora. **'But that attack, that was one of Larxene's trademarks, how did Sora know it?'**

He just sat there, eyes closed so as not to see the rather intimate moment. After a while Larxene calmed, and he half thought it a strange dream. Sora was glaring at him every so often while he spoke cheerfully with Larxene.

* * *

Larxene ('That is my name, right? I am Larxene, right?') floated in a void. Glimpses of her past ('No, this isn't my past. Or maybe it is?') hovered around her like scenes from a video, moments from the past playing out and fading away, only to replaced by more. They spun around her, more and more memories filling her vision.

She couldn't see the void anymore, just the memories, the moments of a life not her own. Kairi smiling, sparring with Riku, childhood mischief, it all flew by, wrapping her in a glowing cocoon memory. She was… fading… what… who... nothing… friends… enemies… a blonde woman… fading away…

"LARXENE!!!!!"

The word, the name, struck her like a physical force. She twitched from her position floating horizontally within the glowing sphere of memory. Green eyes opened, and a single word escaped her lips, "Sora…"

The sphere shattered, and suddenly Sora was holding her. Wearing a black organization cloak (which looked less odd on him than she would have thought), he had his arms around her. His cloak was still wet with tears she hadn't realized that she'd been crying. On his face was a look of concern and other things which she couldn't quite recognize.

What astounded her wasn't that, it was the look of knowing. He knew what she felt, he understood. **'Of course he knows, he has felt this too, this lack of consistency, this unstable sense of self.' **She remembered who she was again, but she could still remember Kairi smiling down on her at the island. The memory of the sun on her skin still lingered.

It wasn't supposed to be this way; she wasn't supposed to care about them, but… **'I just do.' **She raised her arms and, for just a moment, returned his embrace. Then, struggling to her feet with Sora's help, she spoke, "Thank you."

He looked at her reassuringly, "You're welcome, for this time and any other that comes." He smiled happily, and she couldn't help but respond in kind. "Shouldn't you be getting back? They're going to notice you know."

"I can spare a few more moments."

"I'm fine, go talk to your friends."

"I'll go as soon as I _talk_ to Axel." He moved his hand and she felt the lightning begin to form. She grabbed his arm. "He was being an asshole, but he didn't realize what was going on. I'm usually more thick-skinned than that."

"But-"

"Go on Sora, I'll be fine now." He turned to go, but was stopped by Roxas who had appeared just in time to grab his shoulder. "Sora, we need to talk."

"What is it?" "Not here." "It's just Axel and Larxene." "Please, I don't want to get their hopes up." Roxas focused, and with a thought, they were on a different platform. The glass depicting a large image of Oblivion and Oathkeeper, crossed across the middle.

"Sora, do you remember the girl you saw, before you left Konoha?" Sora nodded slowly, "Yeah, the one who vanished?" "Yes, I think it was-" "SORA!!" Kairi's voice echoed through his mind and Sora quickly apologized to Roxas and left his mindscape.

Sora opened his eyes and looked around. He was lying on his back in the corridor of nothingness. Kairi was looking down at him with a worried look in her eye, while Riku just watched with a raised eyebrow. Seeing him awaken, Kairi suddenly began speaking rapidly in a slightly panicked tone, "I'm sorry, I didn't think I'd nudged you _that_ hard, but you weren't responding when I spoke to you, and you looked pretty dazed. Are you okay?"

He chuckled slightly, "I'm fine Kairi. I just need to rest soon. It's been a while since we got a good night's sleep. It must have caught up with me."

She looked skeptical, but seemed to accept the answer. Riku spoke, "Well, if you're both so tired, why don't we turn in for the night, it's still a long walk to the next world."

Sora looked at him in confusion, "Why is it taking so long anyway, normally it's basically teleportation."

Riku nodded, "Normally, but normally the paths are open between the worlds. We're going to a world without a pathway intact. Basically, we're going somewhere that you couldn't go via gummiship, so it means that we have to step into the world of nothingness, walk to the proper location, and step out. Normally, we simply open a pathway directly to a place on the same plane of reality.

"We could be in here for months if we're going to walk the whole way!"

"Space and time are different here; it _will_ take two or three days though."

Sora nodded and they settled in for the night, albeit reluctantly in Kairi's case. Laying out bedrolls, they lay back to sleep. To be more accurate, Riku and Kairi slept, Sora prepared for a training session.

* * *

Sora appeared in his mindscape, surprising the, at this point, perpetually surprised Axel and Roxas. Sensing movement, he caught the kunai moments before it struck him. He had only a moment to throw himself aside as he felt the nearby air ionize itself.

The bolt of lightning struck his previous location just as he vacated it. Using his left palm to spring back to his feet, he brought Savage Nymph up just in time to intercept another bolt which shot towards him letting his keyblade soak it up. Embracing the absorbed lightning's energy as he had been taught, he released it into the air as a sphere. From there it split into smaller bolts, seeking out his opponent.

He felt a charge build to his left, a massive one. Quickly he tried something new, summoning his keyblade, he spun. The tip of the blade left a trail of lightning mana and, as he finished the circle, a circular wall of electricity rose up to block the scores of bolts that had erupted from Larxene's outstretched hand. As the energy was dispersed by the shield, he gathered it back up for his own use.

Once he had enough, he struck the stone-hard glass floor with his keyblade. Larxene raised an eyebrow at the lack of response, only to be caught in the pillar of lightning that had erupted from beneath her. As the lightning struck, she was for a moment just a silhouette seen vaguely in the column of energy.

Her back arched and her mouth opened as if to scream in agony from the attack. Sora however had seen this before and instead hurled his keyblade in a strike raid, hitting her just as the energy faded. She reappeared from the pillar of energy clutching her side where the keyblade had struck, but crackling with absorbed energy.

That always happened with any large lightning attack. It wasn't pain which she felt, but rapture from absorbing so much of the attack's energy. He'd seen her do it before many times, the first time he'd stopped for fear of killing her-he'd regretted that after the kunai struck.

Seeing her raise a hand, he raised the keyblade to block, as the last attack had drained him to near exhaustion. The torrent of lightning flew at him and he did the only thing that he could think of, he embraced the lightning.

He felt it engulf him, and he let it wash over him, through him. The keyblade vanished from his hand, and as it had in the past, the lightning began to flow through him like blood. He felt his energy return, his wounds closed up as his body turned a portion of the lightning mana into healing mana.

This, _this _was true ecstasy; the world faded from his mind, the pain was gone. There was nothing but himself and the lightning, no pain, no sadness, just the feeling of strength and life granted by embracing the energy. As the light faded, he returned to himself and opened his eyes. He knew that his body crackled with lightning, that he glowed with a faint golden aura, and he now knew how Larxene had continued on as a Nobody. She'd lived for these moments, the fight, the storm, the rapture of lightning and battle.

It wasn't rapture that was strongest in her eyes as she looked at him though, despite the high she must be experiencing. It was pride. The moment burned itself into both of their memories. This was the moment when Sora truly became akin to Larxene. This was the moment when the apprentice became a partner and the master became an equal.

* * *

Roxas and Axel had settled for a game of poker for the night, only to have Sora pop in suddenly. Axel began to speak, but stopped as Sora intercepted a kunai. His eyes widened and he summoned his chakrams, only to be stopped by Roxas and dragged some distance away as quickly as possible.

Sora and Larxene had suddenly burst into a massive battle before them, apparently determined to kill one another. He looked to Roxas wide-eyed. His 'little-brother' spoke a single word to explain the situation, "Training."

Axel could only gawk at the following display of combat. It wasn't that it was a level combat he wasn't used to. He still remembered the time Marluxia and Xemnas decided to spar; he hadn't looked at flowers the same way since. What stunned him is that this was _Sora_; he had always been strong, but it was always just the keyblade that gave him strength. Sora had never had this kind of large-scale destructive power.

Roxas spoke softly, "It is odd to see, but he's stronger here in his mind, he has no body to hold him back here, just the appearance he takes instinctively. It's still Sora, even if he has changed a lot."

"What about Larxene? She's always been emotional, but not like she has been recently. She doesn't even act like a Nobody these days."

"She's connected to Sora's heart like we are, but still...something is off about it."

"Well, there's no harm in leaving it be, and worrying about it is just to tiring. We'll find out eventually."

"You don't want to know?"

"I want to know, I just don't care enough to actually _work_ for it." They both chuckled slightly at that and finally relaxed.

* * *

Larxene let Sora get some rest, but not before giving him a small stone, bound in gold and strung as a necklace, "This is something I found just before joining the Organization, it was attached to my essence when you killed me, it's a lightning focus. What that means is that lightning mana is naturally absorbed by it, which you can use when you need to. I want you to have it."

"But you'll need this once you get free won't you?"

Larxene was slightly startled, truth be known she hadn't thought about freedom since they'd left The World that Never Was, "I have two, and I only need one. This one is yours."

He smiled and thanked her for the gift before departing.

* * *

Sora awoke to find the crystal in his hand. He quickly put the necklace on beside his traditional "crown" necklace which had been given to him by Kairi. He quickly returned to his slumber. Dreams engulfed him.

_Zexion looked at him from across his sitting room, the Schemer had a fiction book in his right hand, while his left rested on the arm of his chair, looking at Sora with a smirk on his face. "You really need to find some new reading material, perhaps Robert Jordan or Brandon Sanderson." He said, indicating the copy of Marquis De Sade Sora was holding. _

_Laughing slightly, his black-gloved hand removed the dust cover to reveal a much more entertaining fiction novel. "I have a reputation to keep up you know. It keeps Axel, Roxas, and Demyx from annoying me too much." Zexion chuckled and nodded in sympathy. _

The dream/memory faded and the night went on as Sora's sleep continued undisturbed.

* * *

He awoke the next morning with the smell of books and a log fire fading from his mind. He opened his eyes to the corridor of nothingness. **"Just a minute longer…" **Larxene protested as she began to wake with him.

That seemed to happen with them. If he slept she did, and she woke with him as well. He had to admit it was odd, but there were a lot of oddities with them. He was still getting used to feeling her emotions to a degree, and neither of them had a clue why that happened. What they _did _know was that it was something to be carefully monitored. Otherwise they began to feed off each other.

If both experienced an emotion, then they would also feel their counterpart's. This meant that their own emotions would be bolstered by the other person, who would in turn feel his or her counterpart's augmented emotions and add to them further with his or her own, creating an endless cycle of rising emotion.

This was not good when one was irritated by, say, a random passerby who happened to be following and staring at you for some reason or another. _That_ Konoha citizen had learned his lesson about stalking people.

Returning to the matter at hand, Sora mentally 'shook' Larxene awake and stretched, standing up. Riku was already awake, preparing breakfast (Apparently Maleficent couldn't cook for her life) on a Thundaga powered skillet. He smiled slightly and spoke, "Would you wake Kairi, the French toast is almost ready."

"You brought _how_ much of the Organization kitchen with you?"

"I refuse to live on ration bars and snack foods like you did before Sora."

Larxene finally woke up, **"Smells good, but I have to ask is he really cooking with **_**that**_**?" **Sora could sense what she was talking about, and asked rhetorically, "Riku, are you cooking that with Dark Fire?" Riku nodded sheepishly, "Normal fire needs fuel, and I didn't grab firewood back in Konoha." Sora laughed before walking over and waking Kairi.

She woke up groggily and glanced around before remembering where they were and groaning. Sora heard her mutter something about 'bed' and 'sleeping fully clothed.' He chuckled before going back to Riku's location.

Now that he was fully awake, he was rather curious as to the presence of a large pitch black table and chairs, as well as the silverware and china which seemed to have appeared from nowhere. He looked at Riku in confusion. The silver haired teen explained, seeing his expression, "Solidified darkness and some of Maleficent's old stuff which I held onto."

Shaking his head at Riku's rather odd obsession with eating meals in a proper 'dining room' manner, he just wrote it off as one of Riku's oddities and took a seat at the rather formal looking dining table. It was built to seat 8, so he took a seat next to one of the end seats, while Kairi took the seat across from him.

They sat and chatted amiably until Riku finished and brought the food over, taking the end seat. As they ate breakfast, the conversation took a more serious turn as Riku spoke with a strange expression, "Sora, is there something going on with you that we don't know about?"

"Like what?"

"Like hearing voices in your head." At that Kairi looked at Riku like he'd grown another one. Sora nearly choked on his drink (Iced tea—it was a lot safer to carry tea leaves and add water, fire, and blizzard spells than to carry around a spoilable drink like milk or juice.) at this, "Why would you think that?" His face went remarkably blank at this statement, and that told Riku all he needed to know-or so he thought.

"You're hearing Roxas aren't you?"

With a mental sigh of relief, Sora nodded, "Yeah, I just didn't want to worry you two. I wasn't sure if you would think that I was going insane."

Kairi shook her head in disbelief, "Sora, no one thinks you're going insane."

"Well that's a relief!"

They laughed and returned soon to lighter topics, enjoying their meal. After they finished, a quick water spell was cast to clean the dishes, and the dining table dissolved before their eyes.

Leaving their campsite, they proceeded towards their destination.

Two days later, they were standing in a completely unremarkable location in the corridor of nothingness, when Riku ripped open a portal. "We're here."

Kairi looked at him slantwise, "And you can tell _how?"_

He just shrugged and stepped through the portal. Sighing Kairi followed, then Sora. They found themselves in an empty room. The floor was traditional Japanese tatami, while the walls were completely featureless, undecorated. Moving to the sliding door that was the only exit, Sora opened it hesitantly, "Hello?"

"Ah, I've been expecting you Sora." The speaker walked into sight. He was white haired, and for once this was purely the white of old age.

He was a well preserved older gentleman, wearing a rather unremarkable black yukata. His face showed signs of age, but these were fairly subtle. His skin was still tight against the flesh and he stood straight, lacking the common back problems of age. He was light-skinned, not oriental looking as one might expect.

He glanced over the group and for a moment his expression became one of great confusion, "Where is the fourth? The blonde woman?" Kairi and Riku looked greatly confused by this, not to mention the fact that he had been expecting them when they had no clue who he was.

Sora looked him in the eye, willing him to understand the situation, and unbeknownst to anyone but the man, his eyes momentarily flashed green. The man's eyes widened and he nodded, "…It seems I was mistaken. Please come in, we have much to discuss.

The three confusedly followed him into a rather average looking living room. Oddly, despite the old-styled (traditional Japanese, although none of them would think of it as such) home, the furniture consisted of a couch, loveseat, and armchair. Strangely, the tatami mats weren't even slightly damaged by the heavy furniture.

Sora took a seat on the loveseat, while Riku and Kairi sat at each of the couch. The man pulled the armchair (which Sora now realized was floating about an inch off the floor) in front the group. He sat down rather rigidly in the comfortable-looking chair. **"Something is bothering him." **"Obviously, the question is what?"

The man spoke, "Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Xine. I have been governing this world for the last," He glanced at the calendar, "Five thousand and twenty three years, give or take a few months."

"**Ok, so he's immortal…shouldn't that surprise me?" **

'It really isn't that uncommon though, besides it isn't like you age either.'

"**I'm immortal?" **

'You were before according to that self help book I gave Naruto, and now you're not exactly alive, so you don't age now either. Setting that aside for the moment; he can't be truly immortal, I mean, look at the photos.'

Indeed, through Sora's eyes Larxene could see photos of Xine as a young man, taken in this very room. **"So he's just extremely long-lived." **'That'd be my guess.'

Looking at his friends, Sora could tell they had reached similar conclusions. Xine continued on, "Upon my arrival on this world, I immediately shattered Destiny and took control of the World Heart. This allowed me to prevent the coming apocalypse this world was heading towards. To do so, I altered the populace and divided the world into five pieces.

The first is the World of the Living, which is just that.

Second is the World of the Noble Dead. This world is occupied by those who live good lives and pass on naturally or are helped across.

The third is the Realm of Lost Souls, for those who fail to pass on and thus become violent spirits.

Fourth is, of course, Hell, for those who commit unforgivable atrocities.

Last is where we presently are, my private dimension, my home.

Now, I'm sure that you are all wondering what this has to do with you. I'll put it simply, I would like your help and I am willing to offer you a reward in return." Holding out his hand, a keyblade appeared in it.

"This is Zanmort's Keyblade. This is what you are here for, correct?" Riku nodded. Xine continued, "If you can complete a task for me, I will give it to you."

After a moment of thought, Sora spoke, "What do we have to do?"

"In the World of the Noble Dead, there is a traitor. He seeks to overthrow me, and make himself the ruler of this world. I would like to avoid this. All you have to do is determine who he is before he goes public, so that I may hopefully apprehend him."

"That's all there is to it?"

"No, because, you see, you aren't the only ones offering me help." A door slid open, and Roxas walked in. **'Not Roxas, Ven.' **Larxene reminded him. Sora stood immediately, as did the others.

A visible aura of lightning appeared around him, electricity arcing from his skin and clothing, then returning to his body. Riku's cloak of Darkness formed around him. Kairi spoke a word, and defensive spells formed around her. Sora felt wind stir around Ven, and summoned a kunai in preparation.

Suddenly Xine cut in with a shout, "YOU WILL ALL CEASE THIS IMMEDIATELY! I WILL NOT HAVE MY HOME TORN APART BY YOU CHILDREN!" Suddenly Sora felt a great force slam into him, trying to press him to the ground.

Xine's power was far greater than he had expected, but, with a burst of his own power, he shook off the pressure. Beside him Riku did the same, while Kairi brought up a field of mana and overcame it with little difficulty. Ven was similarly unaffected. It _had,_ however, ended the confrontation for the moment.

Looking at Xine, Sora had to reevaluate his opinion of the old man yet again. Xine showed no sign of exertion. Sora would guess that the man had been drawing on about half of his full power, but he could be wrong this time too.

Xine went on in a calmer voice , "Now that I have your attention, allow me to explain. You see, both of your group want something from me. In the case of your group," he indicated the three, "you want Zanmort's keyblade. While my brother-yes, brother, to my shame- Yen Sid wants my help strengthening his forces. Whoever manages to find the traitor first will gain my assistance.

Sora remained silent, still reeling a little from the revelation that this was Yen Sid's brother, they looked nothing alike and seemingly had completely different mindsets as well.

Riku however, seemed to take it better. Well, he took **that** better at least, "What the hell! This isn't some game, lives are at stake here! If your brother," he spat the word out like something foul, "becomes powerful enough, it will mean ruin for thousands of innocent beings!"

Xine just sighed tiredly and spoke, "I know that, what you don't seem to understand is that this traitor is a large enough threat that this world could very well be destroyed-or at least devastated-if he wins. This world is my first priority, before anything else, and if I have to hold the rest of the multiverse hostage to save it, then so be it!"

Riku ground his teeth in fury, snarling out his next word, "Fine! We'll play your damn game!" He halfway stood-up, leaning towards Xine, his hand seeking to crush the arm of the couch he was seated on. "Do we get any information, or are you just going to throw us out there with nothing!"

Xine seemed unfazed by Riku's anger, and motioned for him to sit back down. "As I said, this is a divided world. The traitor is probably a major player in the World of the Noble Dead, or as it is known by most, Soul Society. He has apparently been active in the Realm of Lost Souls, or Hueco Mundo, as well. Both of these areas should be investigated. I'll give you all a moment to plan, just tell me when you're ready. I'll give you anything you need."

A voice echoed in Sora's mind, "SORA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?!"

He thought back, "Is that you Kairi? There's no need to shout."

Her voice spoke back, still a little loud, "Sorry, I'm not used to this yet. How did you get so good at this?"

"Hehe…um…luck?"

He could practically feel her roll her eyes, "Whatever…now, on to business. I think that we should split up, Two to one world, and the third to the other."

"**Oh no…here we go again…"**

Kairi's presence seemed to stiffen, "Who said that?"

Realizing in horror what had happened, Sora tried to cover, "Who said what?"

"You heard it! Someone just said 'Oh no…here we go again…'"

Sora sent a false feeling of confusion to her, it had taken him a while to learn to produce false emotions and Kairi was inexperienced. Hopefully she wouldn't catch on. "What are you talking about? I didn't hear anything."

Kairi's presence projected confusion and a hint of fear, telling Sora that she was concerned for her own sanity now, not the source of the voice. He felt a little guilty, but he didn't want anyone finding out.

Suddenly he felt another presence…or was it two? Riku and…something else.

"Look's like Kairi was faster. What are your thoughts you two?"

"Kairi thinks that we should split up, what about you?"

"Seems risky, I mean, things always seem to go wrong when we're separated for too long. On the other hand, it _is_ the most logical way to search."

"**Of course Kairi wants you to split up. Why would she, a Princess of Heart, want to be near someone as dark as-" **The dark, taunting, and strangely familiar voice cut off suddenly, and was replaced by the sound of the same voice grunting in pain. Throwing out a mental probe, he sensed Larxene hurling lightning at the source of the voice. 'She'll tell me later.'

Acting like he'd heard nothing, he felt Kairi cringe mentally and another wave of guilt hit him. He couldn't risk it though, if she knew the other voice was real, she may become suspicious of the first.

He could feel Riku panic for a moment, before covering it up. It seemed he wasn't the only one could hide his true emotions, or maybe Riku just didn't realize that they'd heard anything.

Suppressing further feelings of guilt, he drew their attention to the matter at hand, "Are we gonna split up or not?" A feeling of agreement wafted across their connection. "In that case, who goes where?"

Riku spoke immediately, "I'll go to Hueco Mundo, you two should go to Soul Society, you'll fit in better that I will." No one could argue with that, somehow Sora didn't think that there would be a lot of darkness-natured people here. It was, after all, some kind of pseudo-heaven.

"Are you sure? Somehow I doubt that place is good for you mind, you know what places and people like this can do to you."

With the impression of his eyes narrowing flickering across their connection, Riku responded, his mental voice almost a growl, "What? I screwed up once, fine, but I'm not some little-"

Kairi tried to smooth things over, "We know that, Sora's just worried about you."

Riku's eyes flickered gold across the room, "Of course, after all, he's Sora! He couldn't possibly be in the wrong!"

"No, I didn't mean that!"

"Of course you did, who else would you care about!"

Kairi's eyes widened, hurt. Sora jumped back into the mental fray, "Stop it Riku, Kairi cares about you, and so do I! I was just warning you to stay on guard. Things aren't always how they appear!"

Riku was still fuming, but he grudgingly nodded in acceptance and stood, walking over to Xine. Taking a breath to calm himself, he spoke, "I'm heading to Hueco Mundo, those two will be searching Soul Society."

Xine nodded and looked towards Ven, "And you?"

"Soul Society."

Xine stood wearily and walked from the room, returning moments later with a collection of objects. Well then, you will need some help to move about there, and thus, I will supply you with some basic equipment. He withdrew a trio of rather unremarkable katana, as well as a single strip of black cloth.

Speaking first to Kairi, Sora, and Ven, he handed each a katana, "These are what have come to be known as Asauchi. They will, with time, absorb your mana, what is known here as reiatsu, and gain abilities and personalities of their own and become known as Zanpakuto. The abilities and personalities gained, will be based entirely on your mana, which carries and imprint of your soul-essentially your identity- with it. This will be explained in more detail later. I will quietly enroll you at the Shinigami academy. Don't be concerned about time though. You will probably graduate in a matter of weeks. Even if you don't, you can still search for the traitor. "

His eyes shot towards Riku, "You will have a much harder time of it. In order to blend in with the hollows, you'll need more than a Zanpakuto. I can not give you what will be necessary, but I can clear the pathway."

He handed Riku the strip of cloth. The darkness which anyone could feel lying dormant in Riku, seemed to swell and grow. His aura of darkness became visible for a moment. As Riku's eyes widened, flaring gold, he suddenly collapsed.

Sora snarled at Xine, his keyblade coursing with lightning as he hurled himself at the man. Xine simply hurled him back into Kairi, who was chanting an incantation, with a gesture of his hand. "The boy will be fine, he is simply dealing with matters of his the heart. The physical world isn't suitable for such things."

Sora's eyes widened as understanding dawned and a concerned look swept across his face. The darkness had brought Larxene to him, would Riku be as lucky?

* * *

Riku touched his old blindfold, which was resting in Xine's palm, and suddenly felt the darkness within him soar to new heights. He felt Xehanort's heartless scramble for control, only to be locked away by something else. He fell unconscious, slipping into his mindscape.

* * *

Riku looked about the void that was his mind. It was pitch black, only endless darkness in all directions, with the exception of a single white flame at the mindscape's center, which he stood next to. The heartless which usually welcomed him was not present. In its place was something more disturbing for Riku than Xehanort had ever been. A figure, cloaked in black stood before him. "Who the hell are you!?"

The figure chuckled, pulling back his hood. A familiar and unwelcome face was revealed. A single name hissed from Riku's lips.

"Zexion."

"Indeed, and I have the dubious pleasure of showing you the power that you hold. To be more precise, the power of your accursed weapon. The Keyblade, the cleaver-"

"The cleaver of hearts, thief of power, etc, etc, etc. Yeah, I know."

"Oh…well that simplifies everything doesn't it. Hmm…well I guess all I have to do then is help you use what you have. This should be…interesting."

"So, that's all? You're just the one who's supposed to teach me about my power? No devious plots? No promises of vengeance?"

"Why? My life in the Organization was rather boring. Only my books offered solace. Now I have something much more entertaining to take part in. Why would I complain?"

"You're dead."

"Your point?"

Riku just groaned, "Okay, fine, what do I need to know?"

"Teaching you everything will take years. For now, I'll just show you the beginnings of my power. We'll start with duplicating abilities and shape shifting, as those seem to be what you need for the moment."

"How convenient."

"Indeed." Thus, the lesson began.

* * *

Back on the physical plane, the others sat, waiting for Riku to awaken. Kairi was reading over a rather large scroll of incantations, while Ven was entertaining himself with a small vortex of wind. Sora was discussing the situation with Larxene, 'So, who do you think it is, in Riku's head I mean?'

"**The new one or the old one?"**

'Both.'

"**Well Xehanort's heartless has been there a while, and seems pretty ticked at Riku's lack of obedience. The new guy though…I have no clue."**

'Well that explains a lot. The moodiness, the change in eye color…'

"**Still, he seems to be mostly under control. The new one worries me though."**

'Why?'

"**Because I don't know who it is. If they're more talented at manipulation than Xehanort's heartless, and similarly motivated…"**

'I think we can have faith in Riku, he's been there before.'

"**I hope that you're right."**

Riku awoke a couple minutes later, "It seems I have what I need, can we get started now?" Xine just chuckled at his impatience, "One moment longer, I have arranged back-stories and identities for you all. Although they will not be terribly important, they should get you in the door at both locations." He handed each of them a manila folder with the information on their false pasts, common knowledge, and the various laws and traditions of Zanmort.

"Now you can be on your way." He gestured and they all vanished.

* * *

Sora, Kairi, and Ven found themselves standing among several others at what they presumed to be the Shinigami academy. Their clothing had been replaced by the traditional academy uniforms. A shinigami in traditional garb spoke to the group from a stage, "I'd like to welcome you all to the Shinigami academy.

You will be assigned to dorms, each shared with another student of the same gender. A list has been posted on the wall. The standard course is 6 years long, but it is theoretically possible to finish in a matter of days if you demonstrate that you have already surpassed the graduation requirements or substantially shorter than 6 years if you manage to skip several levels of a training division. Such as skipping through basic Zanjutsu in favor of the expert course. Advanced placement will be available by this means to anyone who passes the correct tests.

As you should already know, the academy has 4 divisions, these are:

Zanjutsu is the art of swordsmanship and the inner workings of the Zanpakuto, such as Shikai and Zanpakuto spirits. The study of other weapons is offered, but, however, is purely optional.

Kidou is the demon arts, known less morbidly in the Living World as magic or sorcery. This division also offers electives in reiatsu sensing as well as reiatsu manipulation and projection through mental effort. Those who excel may be offered a position in the Kidou Corps.

Hoho is the art of agility, despite the chuckles and groans I hear among you, I assure that you will be doing more than basic physical training. The primary purpose of the training offered by this division is to train you to use shunpo and other advanced movement techniques.

Hakuda is the art of unarmed combat, this is simply physical training in hand to hand combat. This division also covers more advanced techniques such as body enhancement through reiatsu manipulation and even reiatsu attacks and projections based around physical effort or motion. Those who excel in both Hakuda and Hoho may be invited to join the ******.

Each day you will attend the basic course in each of these, as well as any electives offered that day that you choose to take. Any student may request to be tested at any time, and, if the instructor is satisfied by their performance, they may proceed to the next level in the division's primary class. The policy on elective courses is handled as the instructor desires. You will all be presented with basic information as you leave. Tomorrow you will begin attending basic classes, and may approach instructors in regards to additional classes and training at your own discretion. We urge you to do this tomorrow, as many instructors will not allow late entries. Please check your dorms and rest for the night. Your life as a student begins at sunrise."

Sora wished Kairi luck and they proceeded to their respective lists, and from their to their rooms. Ven made a point of waiting for them to depart before doing the same.

As Sora opened the door to his dorm, he found it empty. 'So my roommate has yet to arrive.' He took the left bed, which was, like the right one, hard and unremarkable. It was nirvana after a bedroll in the corridors of nothingness.

Setting his clothing aside, he quickly pulled some soft cotton pants and a grey t-shirt from his pack-he'd worn them back at the Destiny Islands and later in Konoha- and stepped in the small bathroom. It adjoined to the dorm and was strangely out of place among the dated(traditional Japanese) architecture, the bed was also somewhat odd in hindsight. The restroom consisted of a small shower, a single toilet, and a sink and mirror.

It occurred to him that he'd never seen a dorm room with an attached bathroom before, but he supposed that the only educational facility in the entirety of Seireitei could afford a certain amount of luxury.

After attending to basic hygiene, he stepped out and moved towards the bed. As he moved to lie down, the door opened. 'My roommate I guess…' He turned, and his eye twitched, as did his roommate's.

"Xine has a sick sense of humor." "That he does." Ven agreed.

Glaring at his enemy turned roommate, he placed a few simple spells, such as Barrier and Shell, upon himself and his belongings(he tied his pouch around his leg, once again thankful for spatial distortion. He still wished that the weight matched the size though). The two reluctantly set aside their animosity and settled in for the night.

* * *

Kairi settled into her dorm, looking at her sleeping roommate. She quickly dealt with hygiene and changed into some loose cotton clothing. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she settled into sleep, dreaming of learning more magic.

* * *

Riku looked across the desolate landscape that was Hueco Mundo. A group of hollows could be seen tearing at each other, no, **devouring** each other. Each one with no thought but hunger and power in their minds. Not one of them noticed Riku standing upon the cliff that overlooked them. He was just standing there silently, cataloguing every move they made, every behavior they had, and every ability that they called forth.

* * *

Ven stared into the night. He was perched on the edge of the Academy's roof, lost in thought. Footsteps echoed behind him. He turned, and his eyes widened as he found himself looking into his own reflection. His mirror image spoke, "You can exist. The world is shaped by your hands, just like it shaped by every other being's. It doesn't matter what you _are_, only what you _do."_

Ven spat at the illusion, uncaring if someone saw him speaking to thin air. A madman had the right to indulge himself. "By that line of thought, then even our dreams exist, even our fantasies, even the voices in our heads! After all, they shape the world through us don't they? By your logic you exist, but is the logic of an illusion, a falsity, truly logic at all?"

"I choose to exist because I choose to shape reality. As long as your will and hands shape reality, you exist as well. But beware, for when one's actions are born of another's will, and one's hands serve as another's, one ceases to be more than a well-made tool. So, tell me do you exist? I know I do."

Ven spoke not a word as the illusion strolled off, vanishing from his sight and his mind.

* * *

Sora jerked awake, "Demyx!" He sighed, "Damn, not another one of Larxene's memories." Slapping a hand to his mouth as he realized that he'd said that aloud, he was relieved to see that Ven wasn't in bed.

'What time is it?' Glancing at the alarm clock-another inconsistency in the seemingly feudal-era society-he groaned. It was 5:00 a.m. and classes didn't start for another two hours. Dragging himself to the bathroom, he slowly showered and changed into the provided school uniform.

He strapped the Asauchi to his hip and strolled out the door, figuring that he could begin doing research on the various members of the Gotei XIII. 'Why is it always 13? Why not 7?' **"Good question, I guess that 13 just has style." **"I'm shocked, I'd never expect that you'd be fond of the number Larxene." He said sarcastically aloud. It was nice to not be constantly worrying about eavesdroppers. He had seen no one in the hall as of yet.

Strolling along for while longer, he finally found someone else. The man was wearing the garb of a full Shinigami, not a student, so Sora faked a look of slight awe. The man was rank and file, and Sora almost laughed as the Shinigami preened for a moment. The Shinigami spoke condescendingly, "What do you want student? Perhaps you need a new clock? Yours must be broken to awaken you at this hour."

Sora bit back a retort, and instead subtly probed the man for information, stammering slightly, "P-pardon me sir, but do you know where I could find someone willing to instruct me in Zanjutsu?"

The man smothered a sneer and smiled condescendingly, "Take the basic classes first, then you can try to find another teacher, student."

"I'm already decent at it, I've been wielding a blade for several years, I just haven't had an Asauchi or Zanpakuto until now. Please, I just want to get stronger."

The man seemed about to snap at him, then a malicious glint entered his eye, "Go talk to this guy." He scribbled a name down and handed a scrap of paper to Sora, then spoke again, "He hangs around the training field at night. He's always trying to find the students who have the most potential so that he can keep his eye on them in the future. Show him what you've got and he may teach you a thing or two."

His voice, still condescending, had a sadistic tone to it. Sora hesitated, before remembering who his primary teacher was. 'Why should a little sadism worry me? If this guy's a little violent in his teaching methods, it can't be much worse than daily high-voltage electrocution.'

He wandered off towards the training field, remembering a map he'd seen in the hall. He mused over the name on the paper scrap, 'Kenpachi Zaraki, what will you tell me…?'

* * *

Sora arrived at the training field. A man in a white cloak stood alone, staring off into the distance. An eye patch covered one eye, while bells hung in his absurdly spiky hair. The man's eye flicked his way, "What are you doing here kid?"

Sora recognized the man's type now. He was one of those strength-obsessed types. More importantly, he would be easy to understand and…**"Manipulate?" **'Such a harsh word.' **"Even I think that you've been around me for too long." **Sora laughed aloud, and Zaraki's eyes widened in something between shock and rage. "Is a puny little brat like you actually laughing at me!? I'll cut you to pieces!"

The man pulled his Zanpakuto free, and a force slammed down on the nearby area. Sora's eyes widened, he'd realized the man's rank when he saw the white cloak, but this power was higher than he'd expected. He knew that he should fake a collapse, but his pride butted into his decision making process. He drew the Asauchi and flared his mana, electricity arcing over his skin. He brushed off the pressure and glared at the man, who appeared to be confused.

* * *

Zaraki called up his reiatsu, waiting for the annoying brat to crumple. He wouldn't kill the kid, just scare him into submission-and maybe let his reiatsu break a few bones. The kid's eyes widened, and then lightning sprang up around him and a foreign reiatsu slammed into his own, negating it with minimal difficulty.

Zaraki looked around for whoever had interfered, and found no one. He looked back at the kid just in time to block the boy's Asauchi with his Zanpakuto. The kid wasn't too quick, but that blow was strong. He was actually having to make an effort against an academy student! 'What is the world coming too!?'

He laughed madly, since the world had apparently gotten a whole lot more fun over night. The kid leapt back as Kenpachi swung at him, then gestured towards him, an arc of lightning leaping across the gap. Zaraki caught it on his blade and broke the connection with a snap of his wrist. Moments later, the world turned gold.

Electricity ripped it's way through his body, and he felt his muscles twitching involuntarily, staving off full blown convulsions by sheer force of will. Laughing again at the absurdity of this fight, not to mention the sheer enjoyment of a battle, he endured the attack in its entirety until it faded away. The kid stood before him looking a little drained, but hardly on his last legs.

Kenpachi lunged for the brat, eager to continue the fight, only for the boy to disappear. He heard a sword whistle through the air, spinning just in time to block the boy's Asauchi coming from behind. The kid already knew Shunpo, or something similar.

He punched the kid in the ribs, the followed up with a kick to the chest which sent the boy flying. Mid-flight the boy spun and stabbed his blade into the ground and came to a stop. The kid landed on one knee and then promptly vanished once again. He wasn't using Shunpo then, even Shunpo required the person to be standing and able to walk or run.

He spun to block the Asauchi, only to block empty air. The boy had reappeared in the same kneeling position as before. Kenpachi couldn't react in time as the boy grabbed his throat, lifted him-a two-hundred and fifty pound man-into the air. The boy's green eyes (Weren't they blue earlier?) held a vicious violence in their depths for a moment.

An instant later it was gone and half-believed that he may have imagined it. The hand around his neck clenched and lightning ripped into him again, many times more intense and painful than before. Two thoughts were in his head alongside the agony, they were: 'What the hell is this kid?!' and 'Now **this **is what I call a good time!'

The kid let go, and Zaraki fell to one knee. Grinning madly, he ripped off his eye patch, and the kid seemed to flinch for moment, then returned to his seemingly unaffected state. At least he knew that the boy actually felt reiatsu, it wasn't some kind of weird ability. He grinned and stood, "Nice warm up, let's get started. By the way, what's your name?"

* * *

Sora was thoroughly confused by this man. He seemed to ignore every attack. On top of that, Sora was fairly certain the man was growing **more** civil as the battle went on, as opposed to less. Most people of his type resented meeting someone stronger or equal in strength to them.

The man was strong though. Now that he'd taken that eye patch, which Sora now realized was a mana suppressor, off, he was a more realistic threat to Sora. Sadly enough, Sora found himself eager to see that battle continue. He gave his name as a black cloak appeared on his shoulders, "My name is Sora, S-O-R-A, got it memorized?"

He charged, Axel's chakrams appearing in his hands, and struck and Kenpachi, who's eyes widened. The Taicho blocked the first with his Zanpakuto, and the second with his hand, one of the spikes on the chakram piercing clear through Kenpachi's palm. The psychopath before Sora laughed and swung his Zanpakuto, ignoring Sora's weapons all together now.

Realizing that the chakram couldn't block at that range, Sora called out Larxene's power and blocked with a shorter, quicker kunai. Slamming another kunai into Zaraki's chest, he hurled himself away.

Kenpachi looked down at the knife, pulled it out, and studied it before throwing it over his shoulder. It vanished and reappeared in Sora's hand. The fight had just begun.

* * *

Kairi woke up to the sounds of her roommate moving about. The girl was a brunette who was seemed to be in quite a hurry to get to class. Kairi yawned, "What do we have first?"

All roommates had the same schedules initially, but advanced courses and electives would change this with time. The girl spoke hurriedly, "Kidou first, then Zanjutsu, followed by Hakuda, and finally Hoho. Now let's go!" Kairi attended quickly showered and dressed before joining her roommate and leaving for Kidou class.

* * *

Sora awoke to find himself in the training area, covered in his own blood. He was surprised to see his wounds healed, and Zaraki leaning against a nearby wall, "I'm alive." Zaraki grinned madly (it was his most common facial expression), "Of course you're alive, I haven't had a fight that good in years." "You healed me?"

Zaraki raised an eyebrow, "What're you talkin' about? I wouldn't waste my time on that any of Kidou nonsense, much less healing Kidou." "Well, who did then?" "No one, in fact I'm surprised you're this calm with all those injuries."

Sora stared at him, "I'm not injured. This blood is all dry." Zaraki laughed, "Now you're using hollow abilities, this get better and better!" It wasn't sarcasm.

"I'm not a hollow, that's for sure."

"Huh…I have no idea. I wouldn't complain though, just means you're harder to kill." Larxene disagreed with the madman, **"It also is not something which occurs naturally in humans **_**or**_** shinigami. This isn't something you can just write off. If you're deviating from your natural abilities, then something strange is going on." **Sora had to agree with the Nymph, this wasn't something to be forgotten. Shrugging in seeming dismissal, he nodded to Zaraki, "We should do this again soon."

* * *

Zaraki felt like the world had just turned upside down, and that Yachiru had gained a sense of direction. Someone else wanted to fight him again! Soul Society was Heaven after all! "I like ya kid. Let's fight again soon, maybe I'll even help you with that clumsy Zanjutsu of yours."

The boy, Sora, smiled and nodded, "I look forward to it. By the way, how did our battle actually end?" Zaraki smiled madly, "I have no clue! It all got kind of blurry after that kick to the head. Where'd ya learn that Hakuda anyway? I've never seen anything like it."

"I have a good teacher." "Well, head on to your classes Sora, I have shit to do." Grumbling about paperwork, he flash stepped away. 'Shame I didn't get to use Kendo…'

* * *

Sora watched as the man sped away at great speed, although not so fast Sora couldn't follow it. Standing, he hurried towards his Zanjutsu class. 'Glad I didn't have to use any of Roxas' power. I'd like to keep the keyblade's existence quiet for a while longer.' As he arrived in class, their Sensei glared at Sora for his lateness, not to mention showing up covered in blood, it was just so ugly.

* * *

Kairi stepped into class with her roommate, Kusha, moments before their sensei. The ebony haired woman-almost a girl in truth-spoke cheerily, "I am Rukia Kuchiki, you will address me as Kuchiki-sensei. Let's begin. What do you know of Kidou?"

Kusha's hand shot into the air, "It is the practice of manipulating Reiryoku into various forms via mental focus and exertion." Kuchiki-sensei nodded, and continued, "Now, does anyone here know any Kidou? It's alright if you don't, just demonstrate if you do."

Kusha's hand was in the air again, and at Rukia's nod, she stood, pointing her hand at one of several targets that stood just outside the classroom.

The room in question was truly more of a covered area with seats, centered in a small training area for this class. Kairi was eager to hear one of the spells, wondering what Kidou was like.

Kusha chanted, "Disintegrate you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat! Bakudo 9, Geki!" The target was enveloped in a faint red light. Rukia grinned, "An excellent binding spell, you're doing very well, far better than most. Can anyone else demonstrate something?"

Kairi stared, she'd come here only to learn magic she already knew?! No, no! There must me more spells, but she wouldn't be learning them in here. She needed to get into the advanced courses, although a certain amount of discretion needed to be used.

She raised her hand, standing almost before Rukia noticed her, she with her arm at a target, and spoke,

"Ye who wears a mask of blood and flesh, flutter of wings, he who bears the name of man. Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws! Hadou 33, Sokatsui!" A burst of blue flame leapt from her hand, incinerating the target. Her classmates all flinched at the display of power, while Rukia's eyes widened humorously. Kuchiki-sensei spoke, "Very impressive, we should discuss this after class." The class proceeded to discuss basic Kidou principles while Kairi stared into the distance.

* * *

After class Rukia stood waiting until the room emptied. She looked at the student, what was her name…Kairi, that was right. "Kairi, where did you learn that Kidou?" The girl didn't seem to notice when Rukia let out a little Reiatsu. It usually helped when questioning students-it made her more intimidating. Kairi just responded politely, "I studied independently before entering the Academy, I know a decent amount of Kidou already."

A thread of suspicion wormed its way into Rukia's mind. "How? Kidou scrolls aren't ever allowed into Rukongai, I should know, I looked everywhere for one prior to entering the Academy." What was going on?"

* * *

Kairi felt Rukia let loose a little Reiatsu. It was insignificant, just a mild intimidation tactic. Kairi wasn't surprised, she'd never met a sensei who didn't do something similar. It did however, allow her to sense Rukia's strength.

This woman shouldn't be a sensei, the papers she'd read and the different reiatsu levels she could sense throughout Seiretei put the woman at a level between Taicho and Fukutaicho, not rank and file. After explaining her independent study, Rukia's stance became defensive.

Once the woman explained the difficulty of that fact, Kairi realized that a mild deception could improve the situation greatly. She widened her eyes in false surprise, and quickly explained, "I didn't know sensei, there was a Shinigami in town. I didn't see his face, but his reiatsu was strong. He seemed to be containing it, but I could still feel it. He was so strong, stronger than you! He told me that if I helped him he would give me some scrolls on Kidou.

I assumed it was fine, that he just needed a small favor, and I wanted those scrolls so much. I'd been asking everywhere, trying to find anything. I've wanted to be a Shinigami for so long, and since I didn't have a Zanpakuto, I thought Kidou would help me get into the academy. He didn't ask much of me, should I not have done it? If so, I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Rukia's gaze had sharpened, and Kairi knew that the hook was in place. Rukia stared at her, "What exactly did he want you to do? Tell me his exact words."

Kairi nodded as if eager to tell, which she was, "He just told me to carry a message for him." "What exactly did he want you to say, and to whom?" "He just wanted me to say that they would make their move soon, and to be ready." "Who did you deliver it to?" "I told it to a man in Rukongai, he was wearing a hooded cloak, but I got a glimpse of his face. There was this weird piece of bone running down the side of his face. He didn't…he didn't look normal."

* * *

A shiver went up Rukia's spine, if this girl was telling the truth-and by the panic on her face she was-then this was bad. A man with a piece of cartilage attached to his face. That could only mean…a word slipped from her lips, "Arrancar."

A look of confusion shot across Kairi's face, "What did you say?" "It doesn't matter, just tell me, if you could feel this man's reiatsu again, could you recognize it?"

Kairi browsed furrowed, "Maybe, I don't know. I could certainly help narrow it down." Rukia nodded, "Then tomorrow we are going to go talk to the Fukutaichos, and you are going to tell me if it is one of them." If they were stronger than her, then it was probably a Fukutaicho. The Taichos…best not to think about that.

Kairi nodded meekly, "I understand Rukia-sensei, when should I…?" "I'll find you." Kairi nodded an turned to leave. Rukia called out to the girl, "Also, tomorrow you will attend advanced Kidou, and may attempt to test for the next level if you wish." Kairi turned, smiling excitedly and thanked her loudly and profusely…if Rukia didn't know better, she'd think the girl was purposely providing an explanation to the other students in the hallway. Rukia _did_ know better though; fresh students were never that paranoid.

* * *

Kairi provided any eavesdroppers with a purpose for the conversation, and then left for Hakuda. She just hoped that no one had heard any details.

* * *

Sora drew his Asauchi as the sparring began, it seemed their Sensei-a peacock(although he was happy to say that wasn't literal for once in his life) by the name of Yumichika- wanted a basic evaluation of their skill. He also seemed to hate Sora, and thus decided that Sora's partner would be Yumichika himself, a demonstration of a true Shinigami's abilities he said.

Sora drew his Asauchi, while Yumichika drew his own. The man spoke tauntingly, "I'll give you the first move." Sora smiled, and sped towards the man, his movement just a blur. His Asauchi sliced towards the man's head. It was met by Yumichika's Zanpakuto at the last second. The man smiled, despite his clear difficulty, "You're fast, but head-on attack rarely work as anything but a distraction."

Sora smirked, "I know." He used an ability that he'd cooked up while fighting Zaraki. He had remembered Roxas' ability to transform his body into light, and modified it to work with his Lightning. He quickly broke his body into electrical energy and moved in that form at a ridiculously high speed to a point directly behind Yumichika. To Yumichika's eyes he would have vanished and spontaneously reappeared behind him.

His Zanpakuto blurred towards the man's throat. When Yumichika failed to block, Sora finally realized how slow the man really was, and stopped it just before it drew blood, the blade pressing slightly against the man's throat.

* * *

Yumichika felt the blade, then closed his eyes and prepared to die. The boy fought like his captain-mercilessly. On top of that, he had the cleverness that Zaraki lacked, and the willingness to use Kidou, however hard it was to detect. The blade stopped at the last second and failed to finish him. Yumichika spoke quickly, "I yield." Sora's blade withdrew and Yumichika exhaled in relief.

He should call the boy on using Kidou in Zanjutsu class, but he knew that the boy could have killed him. For this reason, and for the sake of surviving in the future if he fought the boy, he ignored it. He hurried to eliminate the aforementioned possibility, "Excellent, I believe that you just qualified for advancement.

I won't see you again, as you will be placed in the Expert Zanjutsu class, which is taught by Ikkaku Madarame.

In addition, I'm recommending you for an elective class with Hitsugaya-taicho. He doesn't normally teach, but I believe that he will agree in this case."

He was slowly regaining his composure and continued calmly, "There are two things you should know if he agrees. Firstly, he's a Taicho, and won't tolerate being addressed otherwise. Secondly, don't mention his height or anything related to it, treat him with as much respect as you would any other captain. On second thought, treat him like you would Kuchiki-taicho. He isn't informal like Kyoraku-taicho or insane like Zaraki-taicho. Just be respectful and all will go well."

The rest of the class had ceased their sparring as Yumichika spoke softly to Sora, attempting to listen in. Yumichika spoke up, "Class is over, I'll see you tomorrow."

He lowered his voice, "I will not see _you_ tomorrow Sora, here's the time for Expert Zanjutsu." He handed him a sheet of paper, "Ikkaku will tell you where you will meet Hitsugaya-taicho." As Sora nodded and left, he smirked, 'Let's see that smug Toshiro deal with someone who's learning faster than he did.'

* * *

Under the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo, the Panther Hollow known as Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez looked about for his next target. He still needed to achieve Vasto Lorde, even if the others had given up. He sensed a slight power to the north-just a Gillian though, he needed Adjuchas.

Suddenly another, much greater, power sprung up just behind him to the south. He spun and found himself face to face with a strange humanoid figure. The figure's body, was wrapped in ragged black and grey cloth and Grimmjow could not discern it's features. He assumed it had a body, but the cloth that formed its cloak seemed to wrap around something far to thin to be a normal body. This creature was strange even by Hueco Mundo's standards.

He could tell however, that it was the same strength as a strong adjuchas, probably being just that. Thus, he did what he always did when faced with such a creature-eat it. He lunged for it, expecting it to dodge. Instead, the cloth parted, revealing an endless black void under the folds of the cloak. The shreds of cloth that formed the cloak struck out, wrapping around him, and he realized his mistake.

The cloak was not cloth, it was the body of the being before him. If he was correct, the void before him was its means of consuming other hollows. He wouldn't call it a mouth, but it amounted to something similar.

The Adjuchas slowly dragged him towards the void, and he stopped struggling, instead opening his own mouth and charging a Cero. He wondered if it would do any good. He fired it into the void, and it vanished. He thought all was lost, and then the creature stopped.

A thrill shot through him as he pulled free of the cloak and jumped away, it was over, he'd won! Then he realized that the creature was fine. A voice echoed from underneath the 'hood.' The voice was deep and clear, not the rasping sound he'd expected. "I'm impressed, few even struggle until the end. You had the strength of will to strike out at me. Perhaps we can come to an agreement."

Grimmjow started to growl and attack again, before realizing that any being who his Cero couldn't harm could probably eat him easily. He was alive because it had shown mercy. He instead snarled out a response, "Like what."

"To put it simply, I have no desire to remain an Adjuchas, nor I'm sure do you. I propose that we ally ourselves and seek, how shall I put it, bigger game."

Grimmjow was now interested, if he meant what he thought he meant, then… "What precisely to you propose?"

"Not far from here is Las Noches, ruled by the so-called King of Hueco Mundo. That is, until recently. Now a Shinigami is moving into Las Noches, leaving the 'King' vulnerable. I propose that we find this 'King'-a Vasto Lorde- and make a meal of him. Eating a Vasto Lorde would surely propel us to his level."

"I've heard about the Vasto Lorde that you're talking about, he's death incarnate. I don't mean in a Shinigami way either. All he touches literally dies."

"That is not precisely true. His ability is not 'Death,' it is 'Time,' and neither can defeat me."

"And me? I'll be dead whether you are or not."

"There are still many adjuchas who are loyal to him. I will need you to handle them if I am to consume him."

"Now we're talkin.' Will his army be enough to take me to Vasto Lorde though?"

"Probably, if not, I can help you along. Now come, I wish to transcend this from as soon as possible."

"Sounds good." Grimmjow followed the figure as it swept away, no sound of footsteps nor any motion detectable from within the cloak. The adjuchas was terrifying, but it any chance of becoming a Vasto Lorde was worth it. He spoke to the figure, needing to humanize-er…hollowify it, "What's your name anyway?"

The figure spoke, "Call me Riku." The two vanished into the night, seeking their prey.

* * *

The next day, Kairi walked into Hakuda Class-Advanced Kidou was her third class, where Beginning Kidou had been her second. Yesterday she had gotten a feel for basic Hakuda, hand to hand never been her area of expertise, so she was happy to take it. She would have to learn fast though, she needed to graduate soon. For this reason, she'd employed a minor spell for improving muscle memory. It left her feeling mentally strained and made her muscles sore, but it would help her advance faster.

After the first few rounds of light sparring with the other students, she was already winning the majority of her fights. There was nothing more useful than perfecting a technique almost instantly.

She'd considered using a spell for enhanced perception of motion, which would make it seem that she had near perfect reaction times. That would do her no good in the long term though, so she hadn't used it.

She was moving quickly enough that she'd probably be able to promote to the next class by the end of the week if she studied ahead and practiced outside of class.

The class was interrupted as Hell Butterfly landed on the hand of their Sensei-who was rather unremarkable. Sensei spoke, "Kairi, Kuchiki-sensei wishes to speak to you in the entry hall." Kairi smiled, glad that Rukia hadn't reconsidered.

She went to the entry hall, where Rukia met up with her, "Follow me Kairi, and keep your senses honed on finding that Reiatsu." Kairi nodded and they walked out.

They proceeded to the Division 13 barracks. Kairi muttered a spell for truth detection as they entered into the Taicho's office, it was by no means perfect(anyone with good knowledge of multiverse magic could fool it), but would probably work here. His two third seats-according to Rukia, he refused to choose a Lieutenant-were busy doing paperwork.

Kairi whispered to Rukia, "Ask questions about the event, if they know something, their reiatsu will hopefully fluctuate. Ask about something besides recognizing me, it's possible they wouldn't remember me." Rukia nodded, although she doubted either of these two were dangerous, it couldn't hurt, "Excuse me, there have been rumors of Arrancar activity recently, are you aware of anything of that nature?" They glanced up at Rukia, before returning to their own respective stacks of paperwork, which they appeared to be racing to complete. They spoke a moment later in stereo, "No." The truth spell caused her to see a white aura around them for a moment. They were telling the truth.

They proceeded through the various Divisions, meeting some rather colorful individuals. As they walked back to the Academy, Rukia spoke, "Who was it?"

"It wasn't any of them. By the way, why were we talking to them anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"I said he was stronger than you. The only ones who aren't much weaker than you are Abarai-Fukutaicho and Yachiru." The psychotic pink-haired child had stronger reiryoku than any other Lieutenant, as well as Rukia. No one seemed to notice though.

"What are you talking about, I'm weaker than most of them, and why Yachiru?"

Ignoring the second question, Kairi responded incredulously, "Weaker? You have one really warped self-perception. You have more than twice the Reiryoku of either of Ukitake's third seats. Both of them are just slightly weaker than a lieutenant. Truth be known, you're closer to Captain than you are to an average Lieutenant."

"I'm not anywhere near captain."

"You have the strongest Shikai in all of Seireitei besides Yamamoto. That's on record."

"Wait, what?"

"Sode no Shirayuki officially ranks as Seiretei's second strongest Shikai, followed by Hyorinmaru. I can't wait to find out what your Bankai is."

"Bankai? Do you know how long that will be?!"

"Soon if you try."

"Very funny, you think I don't try?"

"You seem to be under the impression that it's impossible."

"Not impossible, just incredibly difficult."

"So you're not up to the task?"

"How dare you suggest that I can't achieve Bankai!"

"Then I propose a bet, if you don't achieve Bankai before I graduate, then I will take over all your missions for the next year so that you may train more. Of course, this will not look good to others, as it will seem that you are slacking off instead of doing your duty as a Shinigami. If you do achieve Bankai, I will teach you several Kidou that I made myself."

Rukia's tongue outran her mind as she spoke, "I accept."

"Wonderful. Good luck with Bankai." Kairi strode back into the Academy, while Rukia finally registered what had just happened, and shunpoed to the Kuchiki family training grounds. She needed to learn Bankai before Kairi graduated, otherwise her brother would end up losing all respect for her when she stopped doing missions. Considering Kairi's Kidou, she probably had less than 6 years.

* * *

Kairi knew that Rukia had a **lot **less than 6 years, no more than two months, but it would make Rukia work hard either way. She was only a hairsbreadth from Bankai as it was. It wouldn't take long if Rukia applied herself.

Hoho was next, and she needed to get Shunpo down fast.

* * *

Sora walked into Expert Zanjutsu, where Ikkaku Madarame watched over the 8 students in the class (counting Sora). He immediately decided to test Sora's strength, unsure whether he should be in the class or not. Sora's position was proven perfectly reasonable as Hozukimaru's sealed form flew across the room, and Ikkaku was barely spared an impalement.

Now though, Ikkaku was using his Zanpakuto's Shikai. Hozukimaru shot towards Sora, the spear giving him a major advantage in range. Sora blurred forward and struck at Ikkaku. The weakness of a spear was that it was hard to defend with, thus attacking was his best chance. As his Asauchi approached Ikkaku, the spear suddenly split apart, catching Sora unaware.

The divided weapon's first segment, the one closest to Ikkaku, blocked the strike, while the blade cut into Sora from behind. Reminded of his battle with Zaraki, Sora ignored the attack, because dropping the offensive would leave him open to be slaughtered.

He transferred himself above Ikkaku in the form of electricity before swinging his sword from above.

Ikkaku sidestepped, and Sora's Asauchi stabbed into the stone floor, leaving him momentarily immobilized as he tried to free his sword. Ikkaku sealed Hozukimaru and swung for Sora's throat. Thinking fast, Sora wrapped his hand in mana, creating a thin shell of it, and caught the blade.

Hozukimaru stopped dead and Ikkaku's eyes widened, moments before Sora freed his sword and swung it up to the man's throat, stopping at the last moment.

Ikkaku seemed quite excited as the battle ended, and tried to start another round. Fortunately for Sora, Ikkaku suddenly remembered the orders that he'd gotten from Hitsugaya. He quickly sent Sora to a quiet training ground just outside the academy. Apparently Hitsugaya didn't like going near the academy, as the students rarely showed proper respect.

Sora happily headed on his way.

* * *

Sora arrived at the training ground, only to be met by a kid who appeared younger than him. He remembered Yumichika's advice, fortunately, and ignored the taicho's height and apparent age. Hitsugaya spoke, "Now, I want you to understand that I'm only here because Yumichika is quite sure that you're something special. If you disappoint me, this will be a one-time training session, do you understand?"

For once expressing a genuine respect, Sora nodded, "Yes, Hitsugaya-taicho." Hitsugaya accepted that, and continued speaking, "In that case, answer this question. Can you hear your Zanpakuto?" Sora was familiar with the idea, but had not actually attempted it as of yet, "No, I have not."

"Then that will be your task for today. I will help you speak to it, and put you on the path to Shikai. Sit down, legs crossed, and close your eyes. Focus on your Reiryoku, nothing else. Focus on the texture, the flavor, of your Reiryoku, until there is nothing else."

Sora slowly let the world fall away, until his Reiryoku-his mana-was all that he could feel. "Now, within your Reiryoku, there should be an anomaly, something which is different, more active, than the rest. Feel it, try to draw it out."

Sora felt something, and slowly drew it to him, pulling it free of the sea of Reiryoku, embracing it. He felt the physical world vanish. He opened his eyes, and found himself in his mindscape, his arms wrapped around the source of the feeling.

Looking down, Larxene stared up at him tenderly for an instant before her gaze flared in anger. **"What the hell are you doing!?" **Sora stammered while he released her, "Sorry, I was looking for my Zanpakuto spirit, I didn't think that drawing it to me would be so literal. I also didn't expect to see you it its place."

Larxene rolled her eyes, **"He's over there. The method Hitsugaya told you senses the primary additional consciousness in your mindscape. In your case that is me, while in Shinigami it is usually their Zanpakuto spirit."**

Turning toward the location Larxene had gestured towards, he came face to face with a massive wolf, the beast towering over him. The creature spoke, "I am the spirit of you Zanpakuto. If you wish my power, my test must be passed." Sora was unnerved by the creature, but nodded, "What is your test then?"

"I will not be a lesser being in your mind. I will not grant you my power until I rule above all the others within here. Kill the woman, and I will become the highest, and you will gain my power." Sora's sealed Zanpakuto appeared in his hand. Sora stared in horror at the wolf, shocked by his demand. Sora spoke, "In that case…I have no other choice." Larxene's eyes widened, hurt beyond measure in her eyes.

The wolf's expression became smug, only to have the sword run it through. "If you will dare make such demands, I will rip your power from you instead!" He jammed his hand into the wolf's chest, seeking the power within it, but the wolf faded away. Across the room, Larxene's eyes lit up, relief sweeping across her features.

Suddenly Sora heard motion behind him, and spun to attack. The wolf was sitting there, it's mouth hanging open as it panted, seeming to grin. It was now only half again as large as a normal wolf.

The wolf smirked(or at least that was the impression Sora got), "Well done, I would never give my power to someone who would kill his packmates for power, much less his-" Sora cut him off before he could finish, "**WHAT!!!** That was some sick test?! How dare you!" The wolf was unfazed, "I did what I had too to make sure you were worthy. My apologies for the crudeness of my methods. Now, hear my name…"

* * *

Sora's eyes, still alight with anger at the wolf, snapped open as syllables fell from his lips, "Furihanasu Kusari, Fenris!" His Asauchi-no, his Zanpakuto glowed as something shot to it from his pocket. Staring into the glow, he watched as the Fenrir keyblade melted into his Zanpakuto.

The blade grew until it was about six inches wide and forty inches long. Chains were wrapped about the length of the blade, pitch black and ominous. The blade itself was steel-grey and unremarkable, but Sora could feel power lurking just beneath the surface, held back by the chains. He stared at Fenris in slight awe, seeing his Zanpakuto's true form for the first time was amazing.

Toushiro watched as Sora used Shikai, "Ok Sora, you have my interest, I'll see you tomorrow after your classes." He strode off.

* * *

Grimmjow followed the mysterious adjuchas known as Riku to the court of Baraggan. The black hollow, looking ironically like the Shinigami of myth, presided over his court. The hollow's army of adjuchas and weaker surrounded him, and, at a nod from Riku,

Grimmjow attacked, ripping open an Adjuchas without hesitation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Riku shoot towards Baraggan, his cloak-his flesh-pulling in other hollows and devouring them when they blocked his way. As Grimmjow tore open another Adjuchas, feeling its power join with his, the greater battle began.

* * *

Baraggan stared at the creature before him, who had arrogantly challenged him and his army. Baraggan spoke, "You dare to challenge my might. I am the unavoidable end of all things, I am rot, I am decay, I am death, I am the inescapable clock which ticks away the seconds 'till your death. All mortal beings and all of their creations are within my domain. You cannot win."

The being made no move or gesture as a deep voice echoed from beneath the hood, "All mortals feel the ticking of time, all of their creations will decay, all worlds will one day turn to dust. They all will fall before you. Unfortunately, though _they_ may rot away and fade to dust, the Darkness has always existed and will always exist. Darkness is eternal, untouched by the curse of time, and before it you are nothing. Say goodbye to the light of the stars above you, the light of the moon and sun, and fade into Darkness. Darkra."

Black tendrils arose from the ground, wrapping around Baraggan, as he thrashed against it with his power, failing to rot away the eternal force they represented. He tasted the inevitability of death that only others were meant to feel. He felt hope fade away as the being's cloak opened, and the tendrils dragged him into the Darkness.

* * *

Grimmjow felt Baraggan's reiatsu vanish, and knew that the real battle was over as he ate another Adjuchas. After consuming scores of other Hollows, he and Riku were alone. The cloaked hollow was hunched over and seemed to be shaking, darkness flowing into him from all around.

The cloak deepened to a darker black, and darker still until the flesh of the hollow was indistinguishable from the darkness that it contained within. No longer concealing the true darkness within, it had _become_ that darkness, cloaking something which Grimmjow did not want to contemplate.

He knew that he stood before a Vasto Lorde. Now, if only _he _had been as fortunate. Riku stabilized, before looking at him, "I see that his army did not complete your transformation. In that case, I will follow through with my promise." A shred of darkness shot out before Grimmjow could respond touching his forehead, and he felt something within him resonate with it, growing wilder and more powerful from proximity alone.

His flesh seemed to burn with that power. Slowly his white skin darkened to black and ebony blades extended from his shoulder blades. His paws grew and his claws drew free of their own accord, blacker than night as Darkness ran along the edge of each. Both sets of fangs grew, no longer fully containable within his mouth.

He felt his senses shoot to new levels as his muscles became far stronger than before. He knew that his legs could carry him far faster than the speed of sound, to the point where he would be able to move faster than any other in Hueco Mundo. He knew that his cero would be blackened forever with the Darkness. He knew that his jaws could rip through the very fabric of reality, tearing portals to new worlds, to other realities.

He also knew that the being before him, Riku, was far stronger than he would ever be. He didn't mind, seeing as he no longer felt the hunger he had before. No longer did he fear being consumed, or need to consume others. That had ended when he became a Vasto Lorde. Riku had given him this power, and had earned his trust. Grimmjow did not fear Riku's power, for he knew he would never oppose it.

* * *

Six weeks later.

* * *

Kairi blocked Rukia's Haien with an incantationless Danku (which she had become rather fond of) while the Expert Kidou class(she'd already tested out of Advanced Kidou) watched the battle, enthralled. The purple flames of Haien struck harmlessly against the rectangular barrier capable of blocking Hadou up to 89.

Kairi struck back mercilessly with Raikouho. The lightning spell struck a hastily constructed Enkosen shield, only to pierce through. It seemed Rukia had underestimated the attack, and paid for it by taking the bolt of lightning-diminished though it was by the shield-head on.

Rukia flew backwards, barely stabilizing herself in time to land on her feet. She chanted, _"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, he who bears the name of man! Inscribe upon the wall of blue flame a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens! Hadou 63, Soren Sokatsui."_

The familiar twin burst of fire shot towards Kairi, who cast her own spell, _"Hiryugekizokushintenraiho." _The overly lengthy spell name for her newest Kidou ripped forth from her lips, the blast of lightning wiping the blue flames from existence easily, and leaving Rukia unconscious on the ground when the smoke cleared. Kairi was just glad she hadn't put a fatal amount of reiryoku behind it. Quickly kneeling beside Rukia, she spoke softly, "Curaga." Rukia awoke moments later, almost fully healed.

* * *

Rukia smiled at her friend. Their relationship had changed since they made the bet six weeks ago. Kairi was already far more adept than Rukia in Kidou, but had yet to graduate due to lack of skill in Zanjutsu. Rukia was thankful for it too, she wasn't quite capable of Bankai yet. They had continued their investigation, however slowly. They'd eliminated the Taichos Ukitake, Kyoraku, Zaraki, and Unohana. It was still a ways to go.

Kairi had stood and extended a hand to help her up. Rukia took it.

* * *

After going their separate ways after class-Expert Kidou was the last of the day-a Hell Butterfly landed on Rukia's hand. It seemed she had an assignment in the human world today. It would be nice to kill some hollows.

She quickly exited via Senkaimon to the town of Karakura.

* * *

**AN: Okay, here is part one of chapter 6. This story is not quite dead yet, despite appearances. Unfortunately, I find myself unable to write well much of the time, and thus only manage to right at random points in time for a day or two. Thus, a single chapter can take many months if I find myself completely uninspired.**

**I thank all the reviewers for their support. Without that, I may have never gotten around to posting this. The second half is in the works already, and should be released in a more reasonable amount time than this was.**

**On a side note, please understand that this story was planned out prior to the release of 358/2 days and Birth by Sleep. Some ideas may be borrowed from them later, but there will be significant differences.**


	7. Chapter 6 Part 2

The Nymph's Blade, Chapter 6 part 2

**As you undoubtedly noticed, the first half of the chapter completely predates canon. I'm pleased to announce that the timeline is now even with the canon. I've decided not to retype the canon, as updates are too few and far between as it is. For this reason, I'm only typing up points where the plot diverges from the canon. Don't worry though, I'm only doing this up until Ichigo's first battle with a Menos Grande. Why? Because that is the point when drastic changes begin to occur.**

::::::::::::::::

Grimmjow watched Riku tear a portal into the human world. It seemed the Vasto Lorde had gained an interest in the events going on there. Grimmjow considered going with him, but decided to stay and find someone to fight. After all, a lack of hunger for souls didn't mean a lack of hunger for battle. He tore away across the sands of Hueco Mundo, his black form vanishing as his speed carried him away in search of an opponent.

::::::::::::::::

Tatsuki Arisawa blinked. She'd been having a normal enough day up until now. Now things were getting creepy.

A barely perceivable creature was moving around. She wasn't sure she saw anything at first, but then she saw it bump into a car; the vehicle shifted on impact, it's alarms going off.

She quickly backed up, eyes wide, and flinched as it turned towards her. The creature ran towards her, its massive, unseen bulk moving with surprising speed.

She sprinted into a tight alleyway, hoping it wouldn't fit, but to no avail. She turned to look at it, and fell to the ground. It had almost reached her! She scrambled back-and collided with something-something soft. She turned her head, and almost shrieked at the appearance of a cloaked figure behind her.

She wasn't normally the type to run from something which is seemingly human, but something primal inside her told her that this wasn't something that she could fight. Every instinct told her to run, to flee and never look back. Unfortunately, her path of retreat would take her to the massive near-invisible creature.

She froze up, she couldn't fight or flee. Fear had left her trapped.

The cloaked figure's 'head' tilted towards her, and then looked up. The invisible creature was coming, and she realized it had been seeking the cloaked figure, not her.

A small section of the figure's strange cloak-which she could now see was closer to scraps of some kind of cloth in the shape of a cloak-stretched forward, wrapping itself around the monster. The massive creature was obscured from sight for a moment, and when the 'cloth' came away, the creature was gone.

Tatsuki began to run, only to scream as the cloth shot towards her, piercing deep into her chest. She closed her eyes at the intense pain, unable to scream. She waited to black out, waited to die. Moments of agony passed, and no peace was granted. Eventually the pain faded, and she opened her eyes. The alley was empty.

::::::::::::::::

Karin Kurosaki, on her way home from soccer, could only watch as Tatsuki fled from a massive spirit. This was bad! She followed the terrified girl, and found Tatsuki alone shaken, but seemingly unharmed.

A sensation passed through her, but nothing was there when she turned around.

::::::::::::::::

Yuzu Kurosaki stared down at Sado. He was badly wounded from the car crash(you should have seen the car). His ribcage had been effectively caved in, puncturing both lungs. Between that and the bleeding, he probably wouldn't survive for the ambulance to arrive.

Sado, aka Chad, was a good friend of Ichigo's. She could already imagine his expression when he got the news. At first, he'd assume he'd misheard. Then he'd attack their dad for the 'horrible joke.' Then his expression would crumble, for one second she'd be able to see a deep sadness within him. Moments later his expression would harden again, and he'd leave the house and go get in a fight.

'Oniisan will be so sad if his friend dies, but I can't help him…' Yuzu covered her face with her hands, weeping over the dying body of Sado. She never noticed as the teardrops glowed with a green light as they struck his chest.

Slowly, Sado's previously declining pulse stabilized.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The creature towered over Karin Kurosaki's teammates from behind. After the incident with Tatsuki, she was mentally prepared for such a thing. She moved quickly, hoping Sado would respond in time. She leapt towards it, swiftly kicking the creature.

It flew back a ways, and she watched as a blast of light shot through the spot it had been. Sado's left arm had become armored and he had fired some kind of projectile at it.

Unfortunately, he seemed near collapse. He stood panting, and seemed to be trying to continue fighting, but it was clearly difficult. 'I can at least buy him some time.'

Spotting a soccer ball, she ran over, and poured everything she had into kicking it at the creature. The soccer ball disintegrated as her foot met it. In its place a ball of crimson light flew at the creature, exploding on impact. Her eyes widened in shock, as did Sado's, moments before the Mexican collapsed.

Wiping the sweat from her brow and then pulling the same hand back through her hair, she was surprised to see flecks of white fall to the ground. 'Dandruff I guess? I'll pick up some shampoo later.'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tatsuki stared in horror as her classmates turned on her and Orihime, apparently possessed. Rushing to help her friend, she knocked the other students aside.

A monstrous creature similar to what had pursued her down an alley while ago sat taunting Orihime and manipulating the other students into attacking them. Tatsuki viciously kicked the students aside and charged towards the monster, holding off the other students as she advanced. Suddenly she was grabbed from behind.

She spun to attack, but was shocked to meet the eyes of Chisame. Before she could regain her bearings, something bit into her flesh. The creature taunted her, "How are you feeling? Those seeds driven into you take root in your body and control it. Soon the right to control your body will transfer from you to me."

He didn't stop speaking, but she had stopped listening. She could feel the seeds sinking into her, she tried to fight it, to keep control, but to no avail. She felt her limbs leave her control.

'Orihime's gonna die. That monster will destroy her. It's all my fault…I was too weak. It's my job to protect her. It's my job! ALL I HAD TO DO WAS PROTECT ORIHIME! THAT WAS ALL! I HATE THIS! WHY AM WEAK?! I'M THE STRONG ONE! I DON'T LET PEOPLE GET HURT!' Her rage faded into misery, "I couldn't protect her… I have to be stronger than this…power…I need power…to protect Orihime…and so that I'll never have to be helpless like this again. I need **power…**

The misery and hunger for power that was born of her weakness, echoed down to the core of her being, and something else responded.

A vision flashed through her mind. A strand of darkness pierced into her from the other end of an alleyway; the cloaked figure locked its gaze on her.

She remembered pain as something entered her, and more pain as it joined with something inside her, then darkness. She embraced that Darkness, and flowed into her, a torrent of power.

Blackness was all she could see, and suddenly the figure stood before her. "You have accepted my gift. Know that this power isn't free though, it comes with a price."

"What price-my soul? Is that what you want? Because that's too much, even for this. Despite how wonderful this gift is, it still isn't that valuable." The figure chuckled amusedly, "Come on, I'm not a demon. I don't want your soul. All I want is your loyalty." Tatsuki's eyes narrowed, "What do you want me to do for you? I **won't** be your slave." "All you have to do is be my ally. When I need your help, you will help me. Basically, you protect me and help me when I need you. Not a bad price for your life, I'd say."

"Tatsuki nodded reluctantly; it was a high price to pay, but Orihime would die and Tatsuki herself would remain weak otherwise. Darkness engulfed her.

Tatsuki felt dark power surge through her. She raised a hand and a black energy radiated from it. Clenching her fist, the girl furiously struck at the hollow, breaking through the mask and embedding her fist within it. A wave of dark energy burst from her hand, annihilating the hollow.

The strange rage which had engulfed her faded away; leaving her disoriented. She tried to focus, and eventually regained her equilibrium. Looking behind her, she saw Orihime standing over Chisame, bright lights shooting out from Orihime and forming a dome over Chisame. The wounded girl began to heal before Tatsuki's eyes. 'Amazing…'

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora met Zaraki's Zanpakuto with Fenris, the blades crashing together.

As Zaraki moved to kick Sora away, the student vanished, reappearing farther away and behind Kenpachi with an octet of kunai already flying from his hands.

As Zaraki spun and lunged, ignoring the knives that pierced his flesh, Sora vanished again before reappearing above Kenpachi and hurling a flaming chakram at the taicho, who stepped forward to avoid it.

Sora landed, immediately shooting towards Zaraki with Fenris in his hand. Zaraki blocked by swinging his blade behind his back with one hand, then threw off Sora's sword and spun to strike him.

Sora let go of his Zanpakuto with one hand and summoned a kunai into it in time to block Zaraki's Zanpakuto. He brought Fenris around and cut into Zaraki's side. Kenpachi ignored the injury as usual, which was a mistake.

Sora's eyes blazed green as a torrent of lightning shot through Fenris and into Kenpachi Zaraki. The Taicho threw himself away from the sword and grasped his Zanpakuto with both hands. Sora felt the man's power triple and leapt away, summoning up Roxas' power to bolster himself.

He now gripped Oblivion and Oathkeeper, his two blades meeting Zaraki's single blade over and over again in a maddened clash of power. He felt himself being pushed back by the Captain's overwhelming might.

Sora hurled himself back a short distance and crossed the blades horizontally in front of him, false Twilight building up where they met.

Pulling them apart violently, a black and white sphere expanded outwards from Sora, throwing Kenpachi back.. The Captain recovered quickly, and they stared each other down.

Each gathered what strength they had left and…were interrupted. Kairi and Toshiro had arrived separately at the same moment. Toshiro spoke quickly to Zaraki, "Yamamoto has called a Captain's meeting, it seems that Rukia Kuchiki is missing, and we believe that her power may have been stolen. If not, then Rukia Kuchiki has either abandoned or betrayed Soul Society. Come, now."

Meanwhile Kairi spoke quickly to Sora, "Rukia went missing on a mission a while ago, but someone else just killed a Menos Grande in the area she vanished from. Some are claiming that she has been training spirits to fight hollows without Soul Society's support. They're calling it treason. I know Rukia! She isn't the traitor, but no one's going to believe me.'

Sora nodded, "It isn't Hitsugaya or Zaraki either. Kenpachi would just attack someone if he wanted to betray Seiretei. Hitsugaya on the other hand is far to loyal to be the traitor." Kairi noted that for future reference before returning to the subject of Rukia, "Sora, I need you to go find her. I'd go myself, but everyone knows we spend time together. I'd just end up being labeled as an accomplice. Please, Sora, find her."

Sora sighed, he had been hoping to graduate properly, but this was too important. If the traitor was making his move and framing Rukia, then he needed to find her soon. He agreed to find her as soon as he gathered his belongings. Kairi smiled and thanked him profusely.

As he prepared to leave, Sora grabbed Hitsugaya's arm before the Taicho could shunpo away, "Hitsugaya-taicho, I'm fairly certain that Rukia isn't the traitor. Do you believe that this is Gin's work?" Hitsugaya responded quietly, "He's the most likely suspect, but I can guarantee nothing." "I'm going to find Rukia, you watch things on this end." Hitsugaya nodded and vanished via shunpo.

Sora did the same, appearing in his dorm. Ven looked over to him. If Sora knew Ven, which he did after six weeks, then he was going over his notes on the various Captains, trying to find the traitor.

Sora spoke briefly in explanation, "I have a lead, you won't see me for a while. Good luck with exams." Ven nodded vaguely as he looked over his papers, a faint smile momentarily passing over his face. Sora vanished as he grabbed his remaining belongings.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Toushiro Hitsugaya spoke quickly at the meeting of Taichos, running damage control, "We should wait a while longer before retrieving Rukia." Yamamoto glared at the young Taicho, "These are orders from Central 46."

"Central 46 told us who to send and their basic objective. They did not tell us the exact method in which to do it. We do not know what other threats there are there. I can however, name one.

I did my research into Karakura; you see. I have determined that it is the home of one Kisuke Urahara, an Exiled Captain. We have not bothered capturing him, as has made no move against us. If, however, we attempt to capture Rukia, who may or not be his ally, then he may intervene.

Instead, I recommend that we wait a short while longer, and see if anything else strange occurs or if he clearly associates himself with her. If not, then we will make our move." Yamamoto addressed the others, "Who agrees with this plan?"

Zaraki(who was aware of Sora and Hitsugaya's suspicions), Ukitake(who was fond of Rukia), Kyoraku(who wasn't eager to deal with something so stressful), Byakuya(who was happy to find a loophole in the commands of Central 46), Aizen(who wanted to maintain appearances), and Unohana(Who was in no hurry for conflict) voiced their agreement. With Hitsugaya, that was seven.

Yamamoto spoke again, "Who stands opposed?" Gin and Tousen immediately voiced their opposition, as did Soifon. Yamamoto followed suit, and the ever-loyal Komamura followed his example.

It all came down to…Hitsugaya groaned mentally. It all came down to Mayuri. If the strange 'man' voted in opposition, then it became Yamamoto's decision. Of course, it was always Yamamoto's decision, but the Sotaicho preferred to allow a level of democracy in the group. Mayuri spoke after a moment of consideration, "We should not get hasty. Observation is the first step to success, as any good scientist would know. I agree with the plan that the brat has presented."

Yamamoto stared at him momentarily, before sighing heavily, "In this case, I will bow before the will of the majority. We will postpone the retrieval for two weeks. You are dismissed."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora watched the Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki chatting in the boy's bedroom. It was clear that their relationship had grown to be quite strong. He should probably retrieve her and make it look like she'd been held against her will or something, but he got the feeling that this was important in some way.

A voice spoke from behind him, "Why are you here?" Sora turned and found that he shared the rooftop with another occupant.

The man was strangely garbed, wearing heavy clog-like sandals, and a rather gaudy green and black hat and cloak. After seeing people like Yen-Sid however, his outfit seemed rather mundane.

"Watching them; a friend of mine was worried for Rukia. At first I thought she was fine. Then I realized that I can't feel her Reiatsu."

"That's because she gave her Reiryoku to the boy, Ichigo."

"I'd understand her feeling weak, but she's like a blank spot. I can feel more reiatsu from the empty air than I can from her. What did you do to her?"

"Why do you think I did anything?"

"I've seen your file, Urahara Kisuke, you like experimenting on people. What kind of experiment is she?"

"The gigai suppresses reiatsu, this way she can hide out here safely with Ichigo."

"It does more than that, or her power would have returned by now. She would have at least come to soul society to prevent accusations of treason and desertion."

"You're a smart one aren't you? You're right, the gigai also drains away her Shinigami reiryoku, eventually she'll be no different from a human. A powerless soul trapped in an effectively human body, no different from any other."

Rage ate at Sora; the scientist's experiment was a horrendous violation of Rukia. Why would someone…unless? He narrowed his eyes, "You're trying to keep her away from Soul Society. Why?" He was still angry, but it was set aside for the moment by his curiosity.

Kisuke seemed a little panicked at his prying, but spoke quickly, "I'll tell you if you swear to not tell the other Shinigami." After a moment of thought, Sora went along with it. He could still act on the information even if he couldn't tell most people. "I swear to tell no other Shinigami besides Ichigo Kurosaki, Rukia Kuchiki, or my friend Kairi of this. Even then I will ask for a similar oath." He glowed for a moment, and realized that a Bakudo had been used to hold him to his oath. Sora understood the man's paranoia, and didn't complain.

Kisuke sighed "I'd ask you to keep this from Rukia and Ichigo, but somehow I don't think that you'd agree. Fine, I'll explain. There is something concealed within Rukia which a traitorous member of Soul Society wants for himself, in order to gain power."

He nodded in understanding, despite still having reservations about the man, "Who is it?"

"You believe me? Why should you believe an exile?"

"Because the King said the same thing. A traitor indeed exists within Soul Society, I just want to know who." Urahara's eyes widened comically, "The King? How?"

"A long story."

"I have time."

Sora presented Urahara with a toned down version of events. No details of any events outside of this world were given and Riku, Kairi, and Ven were not mentioned. He of course left out Larxene, Roxas, and Axel. Even without Sora mentioning that he heard voices in his head, Urahara clearly thought that Sora was mentally unstable. He also didn't seem to care much-he was quite familiar with mental instability.

The shopkeeper smiled at Sora from behind his fan, "So, any news from Soul Society?"

Sora rolled his eyes, "Like you don't have spies there." Kisuke seemed to deflate, "Unfortunately, I don't. The last of my eyes has been blinded I'm afraid. I have no idea what's happening."

"That explains why Rukia's still here."

"Hmm?"

"A team is being sent for her soon. That Gigai can't hide her now that they know. I'd recommend that you dispose of it now."

"No, not yet, it has other advantages. I will, however, give her a normal one before her power is truly gone."

Sora nodded, "Fine, just keep to your word on that, otherwise I'll have to come deal with it myself."

Kisuke was clearly not intimidated, "Where will you go now?"

"I think I'll stick around, keep an eye on those two." Sora indicated Ichigo and Rukia. Kisuke voiced his agreement, the pair needed every guardian they could find. Kisuke vanished, and Sora remained on the rooftop, watching.  
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo Kurosaki stared up at his ceiling. Rukia said that Soul Society would probably come for her soon. He didn't know how he felt about that.

On one hand, he could go back to his normal life once she was gone and he was returned to normal-he didn't doubt that they had some way to make him a normal human again.

On the other hand, life without Rukia…did he really want that again? Did he want to go back to being alone?

Oh, he had family, but he could never tell them about Hollows or Shinigami. They lived happily in a world of harmless ghosts, how could he disillusion them?

He had friends, but the normal ones would never know of his time as a Shinigami, while the powerful ones would always wonder what he could have become if he'd kept his power.

Without Rukia, he had no one that he could truly be open with. She was the only one that wasn't separated from him by barriers. Well, just one-the closet door. He turned his head to stair at the door in question. It was strange to think that here he was, at home, and she was just feet away. She'd wormed her way into his life in more ways than one. Sometimes, he just wished his closet was stuck open, that she was always there with him. He sometimes wished that he could just glance over at her in the dead of night, just to remind himself that she was still there. It was only the closet door separating them, and yet he wished it gone.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia Kuchiki lay on her small cot in Ichigo's closet, staring at the inside of the door. It was annoying. She didn't like not being able to see him. As long as she could see him, this new life she'd made wasn't over yet. As long as he was there, she could just be Rukia, not Rukia Kuchiki, just Rukia. After all, he was the only one who knew who she truly was, and still just called her Rukia. Even Renji had forgotten that. Rukia knew that Kairi tried, but Rukia also knew that Kairi still saw her as a teacher. It didn't make sense; Kairi never seemed to care about rank. Why else would she act so guarded all of the time though?

No, Rukia cherished Kairi, Renji, and all of her other friends back home, but Ichigo was the only one who she never had to hide herself from. For him, rank and nobility didn't matter. The only thing separating _them_ was the stupid closet door. She almost laughed at herself, raging at a piece of wood. Smiling, she reached up, and opened it just a crack, just so she could see his face. She laid back contently, and fell asleep in moments.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo slammed his Zanpakuto into yet another Hollow, watching hit vanish from sight. Behind him, Rukia nodded in satisfaction, the day had been going well so far, this was Ichigo's fifth hollow today, and it wasn't yet noon. Ichigo spoke to her as they headed back to his house to await another Hollow signal, "Tell me about yourself Rukia."

Rukia looked at him oddly, "Why are you bringing this up now?" "Because I just realized that I don't know anything about your life back in Soul Society. I don't know about your friends or family, or anything else for that matter. I'm just curious."

She humored the man, "I grew up in Rukongai-which is the home of souls which are not Shinigami. I had reiatsu, but had yet to enter the academy. Instead, me and my friends just lived on the streets. You see, Rukongai is very much like feudal Japan. It isn't the paradise humans dream of, but it's peaceful at least.

There is no hunger, so there is less conflict over wealth or food. On the other hand, there are still murderers and thieves. It's usually better than the living world though, _if_ you end up in a prosperous section of Rukongai.

Myself and my childhood companions weren't that fortunate. We not only lived in the slums of Rukongai, we also experienced hunger due to having Reiryoku. It was anything but wonderful. Eventually, however, I entered into the academy with a friend, Renji Abarai.

We were like the closest siblings, both trying to make a better life for ourselves by becoming Shinigami. We both attended the academy together for quite some time, and they were some of the happiest days of my life.

I later was adopted as a sister by a man by the name of Byakuya Kuchiki, though his reason eludes me to this day. I became Rukia Kuchiki that day, and I still don't know if I'm happy about it.

You see, the Kuchiki family is nobility, and Renji, overawed or terrified, never treated me the same again. Our friendship grew tenuous with time. We still care for each other, but we aren't close as we once were.

Byakuya is cold, caring I believe, but merciless. He doesn't show whatever emotions he may have, so it is hard to say. He might care about me, and yet he would not hesitate to hand me over if I was accused of a crime. He always puts his own beliefs after the Kuchiki family's reputation. He's my brother now, but we've never been close in any way.

Life since then has been only moderately pleasant, always wrapped up in responsibility and 'proper behavior.' Honestly, I prefer it here."

Ichigo stared at her for a moment, "Well, Rukia, there will always be a home for you here. If you need to get away, or lose your ability to tolerate Soul Society, then come back here. You'll be welcomed with open arms."

Rukia smiled warmly. Maybe life wasn't as hopeless as she'd thought for all these years.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Two weeks since the Taicho's meeting.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Byakuya Kuchiki slumped in his seat. He sat in the meeting chambers for the Taichos. It seemed that he had orders to collect Rukia for her-it was hard to give thought to the next word-her execution. He steeled himself, shoving away his emotions, and left the room, heading for the Senkaimon.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo and Rukia sat out in the park, watching the night sky. The hollow they'd been hunting was dead, and now they just wanted to enjoy the night. Ichigo had lit up a small campfire with Kidou, glad that Rukia had taught him the basics.

If only she'd taught him to stop time, then they could have enjoyed this moment forever.

A branch cracked behind him, and he hurled himself to his feet, spinning to face the sound. A man in a white cloak stood before him. A white scarf and hair ornaments drew his eye. No, he realized, they were not some generic accessories, but were in fact the Ginpaku Kazahana no Uzuginu and the kenseikan.

This man was Byakuya Kuchiki, Rukia's adopted brother. Remembering what Rukia had told him, he attempted to be respectful as he addressed the man, "Welcome, Kuchiki-sama, may I ask why you're here?" Rukia looked at him like he'd grown a second head, but quickly hid her expression.

Byakuya addressed the young man, "I'm here to collect my sister, it seems that she has broken a rather prominent law in Soul Society. You will need to stand aside so that she may brought in for her punishment."

"Which is?"

Byakuya stiffened momentarily, "Execution via the Sokyoku."

Before Byakuya finished his response, Ichigo was upon him, his Zanpakuto sweeping out to meet Byakuya's. "You think I'll let that happen. I'll kill you if I have to! Rukia will not die!"

Byakuya blocked Ichigo's cuts with relative ease, but was surprised to find it more difficult than he expected. Byakuya knocked Ichigo back, wishing he'd brought Abarai along so he wouldn't have to fight, but his Vice Captain had an ongoing assignment in the human world. He wouldn't be back until tomorrow.

Calmly gesturing towards the boy, he spoke, "Byakurai."

Ichigo dodged the bolt of lightning before beginning a chant, "Ye Lord! Mask of blood and flash, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" He accompanied his chant with a swing of his Zanpakuto, keeping Byakuya off balance, before gesturing with his hand and finishing the spell, "Hadou #31, Shakkahou!"

Byakuya took the hit to his chest, being pushed back a short distance, but was barely harmed, "An admirable effort, but this ends now." He shunpoed towards Ichigo, performing a technique that Rukia knew as Senka. Before he could finish the strike, Rukia shunpoed into his path, taking the hit for Ichigo.

Byakuya's eyes widened in horror as he spun from his position behind the two, his shunpo completed. He rushed towards Rukia, who had suffered severe wounds. He could tell that her Hakusui had been severed, although her Saketsu had been spared-little use though it was. Ichigo had lost both in the attack, but Byakuya cared little.

He grabbed Rukia's face, looking into her eyes, "Where is there a healer, a doctor, around here? I will not let you die in this way."

Rukia smiled weakly, "I'll only tell you if you take Ichigo too."

Byakuya started to protest, but stopped. If saving the boy was the price to pay for allowing Rukia to live a while longer, then so be it. "Fine."

"The Kurosaki family clinic, it's run by Ichigo's father. It's the only place close enough." She gave him rough directions, and Byakuya shunpoed to the Clinic, where Rukia knew Isshin was still working late. He knocked on the door heavily, then laid the two down, having restored Ichigo to his body(which was laying in the park).

He waited, knowing that the boy's father wouldn't be able to see him, but wanting to keep an eye on Rukia. The door opened, and Byakuya nearly had a heart attack as Isshin-taicho of the Gotei 13 looked straight at him. The man spoke quickly, ignoring for the moment the sight of 'Bya-kun' at the door to his clinic, "Grab Rukia and come on!" Byakuya instinctively obeyed, carrying his sister to the clinic's emergency care room as he followed Isshin. It was hardly the ER, but it was suitable for stitching up large wounds and such until the injured could be taken to a hospital.

Setting her down on one of the room's tables, he watched as Isshin set the boy-Isshin's son-down on another table. Isshin spoke to him, already stitching up the two's wounds(Ichigo's had transferred to his body when he was returned to it.), "What happened?"

"I was sent to retrieve Rukia, in accordance with the will of Central 46. Ichigo opposed me, and I used Senka. Rukia intercepted the blow and was injured as well."

Isshin nodded calmly, "Remind me to beat the shit out of you later. For now though, get Rukia out of her Gigai, I'll work on Ichigo in the meantime. Byakuya followed his instructions, shocked at the amount of resistance he found when attempting to remove Rukia. It was almost as if it was a real body instead of a Gigai. When he finally freed her, he stared for a moment at her white kimono, realizing at last what he'd taken from her with his Senka.

He turned to Isshin, "What should I do now?"

"Go get my daughter Yuzu, she may be a child, but she is quite capable. She can work on Ichigo while I handle Rukia."

Byakuya started to leave, then remembered, "How will she see me?"

"Tell Karin, the dark-haired one-that Ichigo's injured and I need Yuzu's help. Don't be surprised if she doesn't acknowledge your presence. She'll bring her sister hopefully. When they're both in reach, Shunpo them here."

Byakuya shunpoed to Isshin's home, which he'd seen Rukia and Ichigo leave before they went to the park. He'd wanted to give his sister one last fond memory before he brought her in, so he'd let her go. He opened the door, breaking the lock in the process, and hurried up the stairs, talking to Karin, "Your father needs your sister's help, Ichigo's been injured."

Karin had been ignoring him, but promptly went and grabbed Yuzu. They started down the stairs. Byakuya quietly grabbed their arms and Shunpoed to the Clinic, lifting them slightly into the air as he pulled the two along. The girls seemed disoriented, but ignored the strange event in favor of helping their father as they ran into the clinic.

Yuzu rushed to Ichigo's side, following her father's orders, "Disinfect his wounds, stitch anything you can, and bandage the rest. Karin, call this number." He handed her Urahara's phone number." Byakuya just watched the former Taicho numbly. The world had gone mad.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo's eyes opened slowly. All he could see was white. 'Hmm…well, Soul Society isn't all white and glowy, so that means…shit. I'm in a hospital.' "ICHIGO!" His father's foot was incoming. 'I was stabbed damnit!' The attack was approaching, only to be interrupted by…Byakuya? Ichigo's eyes nearly came out of his head. "What the hell are you doing here."

"Keeping you alive, it seems Isshin is still as violent as ever. Why didn't you mention that you were his son Ichigo? Everything could have been much more civil then."

Ichigo's mouth just gaped a little as his jaw raised and lowered, fishlike. "What the hell is going on old man?!" He hurled himself from his hospital bed, his fist slamming into his father's stomach, who responded with a kick towards Ichigo's head.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia watched the fight numbly. The world had gone mad.

Ichigo was fighting his father, while her brother watched peacefully. She was clearly dreaming. Wait, no, the pain in her chest spoke otherwise. Wait…Ichigo was fighting his father after being cut open by Byakuya? Shit, that idiot would reopen his wounds! She quickly pulled herself from the bed and threw herself at the two, dragging Ichigo back to his bed, while kicking Isshin aside. She lay herself back down quickly as she felt one of her wounds trying to reopen. Byakuya might as well have not been there.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Byakuya watched his sister thrash the two mercilessly. Since when did Rukia act like this? It was completely inappropriate for her station, but she seemed very happy, so much more alive. Maybe this was why she hadn't come back. Maybe her reason for remaining in the living world was simply a desire to keep this carefree life she seemed to be living. Knowing that, could he really take her back to be executed?

No, he had to, he had to obey the laws of Soul Society. In accordance with those laws, the only way for Rukia Kuchiki to avoid execution was to die and be reincarnated as a human. No, wait….no, the law was worded a little differently. It said that a Shinigami could only escape punishment by being severed from the spiritual plane. This was generally considered to be via death and resurrection, but could possibly be interpreted to allow the severance of the Soul Chain and placement inside a body in the Living World.

As long as he didn't give Yamamoto or Central 46 a reason to make a decision to the contrary, he could leave her here without violating the laws of Soul Society. He smiled. It seemed Rukia would be able to enjoy this new life after all. He turned towards his sister, "You are hereby banished from Soul Society. You may not return on pain of death."

Ichigo turned towards Byakuya, rage forming in his eyes, but was stopped as Rukia threw her arms around Byakuya in a loving embrace. She spoke simply, tears in her eyes, "Thank you, Oniisan." Byakuya's eyes widened, it was the first time he'd heard her call him brother in any way besides cold politeness.

He wrapped his arms around her momentarily, allowing himself to soften for only a moment, warmth suffusing his voice, "Live happily, Imouto." He stood, and left promptly, his face once again masked in ice. Isshin spoke to him as he opened the door to leave.

"Do you understand why I left now, Bya-kun?"

"Yes, I believe I do. Take care of her." Without a word Byakuya shunpoed away, waiting until he was calmer to return to Soul Society.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo watched the moment in confusion. Rukia was happy to be banished? This made no sense! Rukia smiled at Ichigo and explained, "He was telling me I didn't have to go back. He was telling me that he's found a way to keep me alive."

Ichigo's eyes widened in understanding, before he grinned in joy, something which looked distinctly odd on his face, "Then, I guess I don't need to say goodbye."

Rukia smiled back, "Nope, I just hope you don't need your closet back anytime soon."

"Never, my closet is yours."

"Thank you Ichigo."

Karin just stared at the pair for a moment before writing it off as psychosis. Madness was common enough in both her family and Rukia's apparently(if her brother was anything to go by). Isshin and Kisuke walked in a few minutes later, Kisuke speaking in his usual manner, "So, aren't you glad I was here to fix you up?" The two just glared at him, Ichigo snapping at him, "Somehow, this is your fault sandal-hat." Isshin laughed at that, until he was silenced by an elbow from Kisuke.

Ichigo turned towards Isshin, "Now, how the **hell** do you know Byakuya?"

Isshin grew somber, "Bya-kun and me go way back. I haven't seen him for, oh I don't know, a hundred and ten years?"

Rukia stared at him for a moment, before suddenly spewing her tea, which Yuzu had left next to their bedsides, "You're _that_ Isshin? But, you're Ichigo's-oh, I really need something stronger than tea. Where's the alcohol?"

Karin, who'd been sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, tossed her a bottle of vodka, "We ran out of normal disinfectants."

Rukia took a swig from the bottle, enjoying the freedom from saucers and sake. Meanwhile, Ichigo had apparently broken down completely, as he was completely silent and still.

Isshin explained, "I was a taicho in the Gotei 13 a century ago. I left when my wife was executed-although she was spared the Sokyoku-for unjust reasons. Later, I met her reincarnation, your mother, and we married. I'm one of the few men to have a second chance at a life with his soul mate. I stopped leaving my Gigai after I met her. Now, I can barely tell it from a normal body, although that is as much thanks to Kisuke here as anything."

Urahara laughed from behind his fan, "High praise Isshin, not that I don't deserve it. That Gigai was an impressive work, as is Rukia's. Oh, and Ichigo, I'm ex-taicho of the Gotei 13, Kisuke Urahara, not 'sandal-hat.'"

Ichigo didn't even register the comment, still in shock that he'd somehow ended up in the family business despite everything he'd done. Rukia, however, snapped at Urahara with a mild slur, "What cha' mean, Rukia's Gigai? What the hell did ya' give me?" Kisuke blinked at the vodka-induced slur, but quickly explained the workings of the Gigai.

Unfortunately for him, Ichigo _did_ hear that. "WHAT THE HELL! YOU PURPOSELY GAVE RUKIA AN IMPROPER GIGAI!"

"Hey, it isn't all bad. You see, this Gigai doesn't just weaken someone, it steals their power. What does that mean? It means that all of Rukia's Reiryoku is stored inside her Gigai. I can give her power back.

Rukia perked up at this, "Cha' mean I'll be a Shinigami again?"

"Precisely, now give me that!" Kisuke stole the vodka back from her. He found that speech pattern to be quite obnoxious. "As for you Ichigo, your power was just Rukia's. It's gone, but you still have your natural abilities asleep within you. I will help you access them. In the meantime, you rest up. We start in two days!"

Ichigo just stared as his father and Kisuke shot out of the room. "They're hiding something."

Rukia nodded, "I don't wanna' know what."

Ichigo scowled, "Me neither."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Karin Kurosaki was cleaning up the local hollows. With Rukia and Ichigo out of commission, she'd been helping out the last few days. She was getting pretty good too. She was learning to create that same ball of energy as before with relative ease. She'd learn to tie the strength of the blast to the force of the kick. It wasn't necessary, she could shoot a massive blast with a half-hearted kick, but by mentally linking the two, she gained more control. More than that, she'd found some other abilities. She could move really fast if she poured some of her power-err…reiryoku she guessed-into her body. It wasn't quite as fast as she'd seen that Byakuya guy move, but it was definitely easier to control. She didn't have to preprogram her movement, so she had a lot more mobility.

It was funny, getting used to this was really easy. She'd thought she would never get over all the stuff Dad had told her. Shinigami, Hollows, Soul Society, it should have left her perpetually freaked out. Instead, things almost seemed easier. The weirdness that had been going on recently was now explainable. The biggest difference was her own personal changes.

She felt different. She felt somehow disjointed from the rest of the world. It wasn't that she didn't care about her family or friends, in that aspect nothing had changed. No, it felt like she existed at a slightly different frequency than everyone else. She also felt more alive, than before, like her body was just hiding something greater. She knew she sounded egotistical, but she felt like she had grown into something _more_.

Sensing another Hollow, she blurred towards it, leaping towards its head and grabbing the front of the creature's mask. She crushed it in her hand, deciding to try a new method. She felt power pour into her as it died, a feeling of euphoria falling over her in the process. 'I wonder why Ichigo never mentions that feeling. Is it taboo to talk about or something? Well, I'll just keep my mouth shut just in case.'

Karin wiped away the sweat on her face and hair. White flecks littered he shirt. Her dandruff was getting worse.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tatsuki sat with Inoue, Ishida, and Sado as Kisuke spoke. Apparently he wanted their help dealing with something going on in this Soul Society place. Tatsuki just nodded along with Inoue. Internally, she was wondering if she would meet her benefactor there. Part of her was scared of that possibility, but part of her was eager.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Within Seiretei, the traitor's lips creased into a frown. This morning, Byakuya Kuchiki had worked his sister free of her sentence. Worse yet, the way he had done it-severing her from Soul Society and the spiritual plane all together-took her out of Central 46's jurisdiction. It seemed that other methods would have to be used.

Opening a Garganta, he stepped through into Hueco Mundo. He sought out a suitable Adjuchas from among those he had been watching(After all, he'd need test subjects later). Finding one, he shunpoed to its location.

Upon arrival, he was shocked to find a black-robed Vasto Lorde level Hollow standing over it. The Adjuchas-level Hollow was changing, evolving he realized. He was seeing the birth of a Vasto Lorde.

Quickly, he slipped out of sight, watching from behind an illusion he'd conjured. The Hollow shrank, until it resembled a large deer, with black fur and antlers. It distorted again before the traitor's eyes. It wasn't getting stronger, it was just _changing._ The Hollow's flesh rippled, and the fur changed in texture. antlers receded back, and triangular ears took their place. The 'bone' structure of the creature shifted. When it was again recognizable, the traitor found himself gazing upon a canine hollow.

The figure stared at it for a moment, and he felt something else happen, but he didn't know what. The figure vanished shortly after through a black portal.

The traitor shunpoed to the canine, stooping down in front of it. Moments later, he'd convinced it that he'd made it a Vasto Lorde and that it had to complete a task for him in payment or be destroyed. The creature was through the Garganta in moments.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia stretched her muscles, they were finally cleared to leave. As her and Ichigo happily strolled out the door, a dark Reiatsu hit them. Ichigo chuckled, "You know, that's just not right. We're injured and barely able to walk, and yet we can't go outside without being attacked."

Rukia wasn't laughing, the hollow felt strong, and its Reiatsu was still suppressed, as if trying to get them to underestimate it. The problem was, its suppressed reiatsu was stronger than a Gillian-class menos. That meant it felt like an Adjuchas-class menos. Which meant that it was truly Vasto Lorde class. In simple terms, it was time to run.

She grabbed Ichigo's arm and dragged him back inside the clinic. The building wouldn't help much, but it was better than nothing. Running deeper into the building, she glanced over her shoulder and saw a small canine hollow, no more than twice the size of Rukia herself. The creature loped towards them. She ducked into a dark room, pulling Ichigo with her.

The hollow stopped outside the door, barely visible to Rukia, who was for once glad for her and Ichigo's almost nonexistent reiatsu. The Hollow sniffed the ground, before turning towards the door. A hollow who could track by scent? She'd forgotten what made Vasto Lordes the most dangerous (besides their absurd amount of reiatsu). They were fully sentient and clear minded. There were no voices in their heads to distract them, nor was there overwhelming hunger to make them into mindless beasts.

The creature knocked down the door as she and Ichigo backed up, the orange-haired Shinigami having realized the danger at last.

The creature lunged at her, only to grab her arm. It growled at her, and began to drag her towards a portal which had suddenly opened.

Realizing that this wasn't random, she grabbed at its face, trying to pull free. It didn't budge. She watched the portal grow larger in her vision. She wouldn't lose this life, not now, not when it was so close. She beat at it with her free hand to no avail. Finally, she slapped her hands over its eyes, doing what she could to keep it from getting to the portal. She shouted at it, "Stop! Let go of me! JUST STOP!" She wanted it to let go, she just wanted it to let go of her!

She unconsciously reached out for her reiatsu to help in pushing it away. Instead, she found something else. Her hand glowed a deep blue verging on black, and she felt power flowing from her. The Hollow writhed as some kind of energy poured into it. Before her eyes, it collapsed. The power she'd unleashed was still doing its work.

The blue glow engulfed the hollow for a moment, and when it became visible again, it had been replaced with a…human? A young woman lay before her, naked. As the glow faded away completely and her face was exposed, Rukia saw a piece of cartilage on her face. Not human, an Arrancar.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Karin Kurosaki felt the Hollow from across town, and arrived moments after the Hollow's transformation. She looked down at the Arrancar in confusion. It felt familiar, similar to what she'd felt when Tatsuki was attacked, but not just that. It also felt similar to someone else. Someone close to her. She just couldn't place it.

Looking down at it, at her, she lifted the girl up and blurred towards one of the other rooms, placing the Arrancar girl on a bed. She quickly blurred to a linen closet for a blanket, and then back to place it over the girl. Blurring back to Rukia and Ichigo, she spoke, "What the hell is going on?"

"That was a Hollow you just carried away."

"Well duh. What I want to know is, a) why the hell does it look like a human girl and b) why was it lying naked in the clinic!?"

After they explained the situation, Karin nodded, "Ok, that makes sense. You just turned a hollow into a naked girl by accident." She promptly tossed a nearby table at them, "YEAH RIGHT!"

Rukia and Ichigo shook their heads, "No, it's true!"

Karin decided to solve this the easy way, "You two get Kisuke and Dad, I'll watch the girl. See ya!" She blurred back to the girl's bedside.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Hollow slowly regained consciousness. There was a human-shaped hand on her arm. Wondering which Arrancar had found her, she glanced at her fellow Hollow. Her eyes widened in shock as she found herself staring at a human girl. No, that wasn't right, she didn't feel human-but she didn't have any mask fragment. What the hell was going on?

A pair of humans walked into the room, grimfaced. The taller, a orange-haired male, spoke roughly to her, "Why did you attack us, hollow? Who sent you?"

She opened her mouth to explain, then closed it, and then finally spoke hesitantly, "I-I don't know. I don't remember…"

The black haired female who'd accompanied the male cut in aggressively, "What _do_ you remember?"

"I remember a hooded figure in a black cloak. I remember feeling my body transform. I remember becoming a Vasto Lorde. Everything is a blur after that until I woke up here as an Arrancar."

The black-haired human groaned, "Great, we have an amnesiac Arrancar sitting in the clinic. On top of that, we have no clue who sent it or anything else. Wonderful…"

At that moment a pair of Shinigami walked in, sending a wave of terror through her. "Please, don't kill me! I don't want to die!"

One of the Shinigami-his hair was blonde- raised an eyebrow, "Now why would we do that? You're much more useful to us alive."

"W-What do you mean? I'm a hollow, what use could I be to you?"

An 'evil' grin engulfed the Shinigami's face, "Oh, I could think of quite the list: test subject, moving target, test subject…"

The other Shinigami snorted, "Okay, that's enough Kisuke, you'll scare the poor girl to death."

The blonde smiled mildly at the other Shinigami, "A bit late for that, but you're right." He looked at her again, "It's simple; we want you to tell us everything about Aizen Sosuke that you know."

She did as he said, "Who's Aizen Sosuke?" The Shinigami groaned.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Two days later, the Hollow-she had no name-watched from a distance as the young non-human from before assaulted a hollow. Ripping it's reiatsu from it and absorbing it. She had to admit, it was much cleaner than literally eating a hollow. The shinigami hadn't even kept her locked up once they found out she didn't know anything. Instead, the blonde-Kisuke Urahara- had attached a strange collar to her, locking away her reiatsu.

The non-human, 'Karin,' had caught her interest today, and she jumped down to speak to it. The girl spun towards her, and the Hollow's eyes widened as she saw that the being's face was covered in mask pieces.

The non-human calmed as she saw who it was, and the mask pieces began to fall away from her face. "What do you want?"

The Hollow said the first thing that came to mind, "I was impressed by your technique, but your Cero needs some work."

"Huh?"

The Hollow's eyes widened, 'She doesn't know…' "That ball of energy you, um, kicked. That's called a Cero. At least, that's what I've heard it called." That last sentence would make it seem less like she had intimate knowledge of the topic, and more that she'd seen it done. That would hopefully keep Karin from realizing what she was becoming…not that the Hollow knew exactly.

"Oh…so what am I doing wrong."

The Hollow responded immediately, "The reiryoku isn't being focused properly. It all needs to be centered around a single point, not just jammed together. The more precisely you do it, the better the result will be."

Karin nodded vaguely, her eyes thoughtful as she created a Cero. The sphere-previously just a loose mixture of red and black energy, was now more organized, with all of the energy and light radiating from a center-point.

The Hollow smiled, "Perfect. Do you know about Bala?"

The Hollow was never sure exactly when it was that she decided to take the girl under her wing, even years later.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo looked around the underground chamber. The painted sky overhead made it seem much more open and spacious than it truly was. That wasn't to say it was small, the cavern was immense.

Kisuke laughed psychotically from behind the gaping Kurosaki and the accompanying Kuchiki.

Kisuke calmed after a moment and addressed the two, "Now, we shall began the process or restoring your power. First though…Tessai!" He punctuated the statement by knocking Ichigo from his body. A cleaver held by Tessai cut through the boy's soul chain. Next, Rukia found herself ejected from her gigai. She was fortunate in that she had no soul chain to cut.

"The first stage of your training is simple, stay alive." Ichigo was shoved aside by Rukia as she sensed a Reiatsu directly behind him. A cloud of sand erupted as something struck it. Ichigo turned to see…a little girl? Kisuke continued talking, " Now Ichigo, Ururu here is going to be your opponent. Don't get hit. Rukia, how do you feel, any difficulty moving about?"

The Kuchiki shook her head slowly, "I feel weaker, I doubt I could use Hoho. Besides that though, I feel fine."

Kisuke smirked, "Very good! Well then, let's just watch the show. Have at it Ururu!"

The child lunged at Ichigo, who just barely threw himself out of the way. A moment later, he was forced to roll to the right as a fist embedded itself where his face had been moments before. Ururu paused slightly, and Ichigo took the chance to escape.

Ichigo ran for his life as the little girl pursued him. Once he had some distance on her, he turned. She struck only a second later. Ducking her punch, he followed up with a strike towards her stomach. At the last second, he hesitated. The punch launched him into a wall as Ururu struck.

Kisuke noticed the hesitation, "Why are you holding back Ichigo? You almost had her there!"

Ichigo just glared at him, "She's just a kid! I'm not going to beat up a little kid!"

Kisuke scowled-a rare expression for him, "Ichigo! It doesn't matter who or what she is! She will kill you if you don't fight back!"

Ichigo began to argue, but was cut off by another incoming punch. He dodged again, and this time followed through on his attack. A swift, relatively gentle, strike knocked the girl back. He felt guilty, but he couldn't get killed now.

Kisuke spoke, "Okay Ururu, that's enough. I believe Ichigo is ready now. Next is…" He casually knocked Ichigo across the room into a deep pit. "Alright Ichigo, now you need to find your Shinigami powers. Just get it done before you become a hollow, ok?"

Ichigo's protests fell on deaf ears as Kisuke turned to Rukia, "Alright Kuchiki-san, this is your last chance to back out. Are you sure you want to do this. Rukia nodded and leapt down into another pit adjacent to Ichigo's.

Kisuke stood and waited as the seconds ticked away.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kairi smiled widely, she had tested out of her last class the day before. Today there would be Division members here to evaluate her. She would then be able to choose from among those who offered her a position in the Division.

She was waiting for them in a large circular chamber. Presumably, it was designed to allow room for impromptu testing. The center of the room, where she stood, was well lit. The outer edges, where the Division members would stand, were shrouded in darkness.

A group of shadows appeared from the doorway. She couldn't make out individuals, but she could tell that they were all at least Lieutenants. Two captains had arrived as well.

She heard muttering as they argued over something. Eventually, a figure stepped from the shadows. Kairi cringed, it was Mayuri. The _thing_ spoke, "Now, I'll be your new captain. Welcome to the 8th division."

Kairi blinked before glaring, "I was under the impression that it was my choice, not yours."

Mayuri seemed amused, "Oh, officially it is. The problem is that you have to be offered a position elsewhere. I managed to _convince _the others to give up on you. Now, come along." Kairi's blood was ice in her veins. She'd heard about Mayuri's twisted experiments. There was no way she was going anywhere near his division.

Summoning her mana, Kairi focused on a Kidou incantation. Kurohitsugi should handle this well enough.

"I'm afraid that I-"

Kairi's sentence was finished by a soft, masculine voice from behind her, "-have received another offer." The voice continued speaking, "Did you really think I would miss the graduation of the Academy's most promising Kidou student?"

Mayuri sneered, "You can't have her! Each division can only accept one recruit each month!"

She could almost hear the voice's owner smirk, "I have already chosen my recruit for the 5th division, but I am allowed to recruit one student into the Kidou Corps as well. Now, please leave us."

Kairi turned to face the speaker as Mayuri snarled and departed. The Captain before her smiled gently, his messy brown hair framing his smiling face. His glasses reflected the light. "Come Kairi, I have much to show you."

Kairi nodded, "Yes Aizen-taicho."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia opened her eyes.

She stood at the base of a pillar of ice. Above her she could see a vast palace, balanced upon the pillar. Now she had to reach the top. She sighed. This was just like when she obtained Shikai. She had to climb to the palace.

This was more easily said than done, seeing as it was a pillar of i_ce._ As she clawed at the pillar, seeking purchase, her hands began to go numb.

'I did this before. I can do it again.' Unfortunately, she wasn't quite sure of that. Last time she had used her reiatsu to reshape the ice. This time, she didn't have that luxury.

Staring at the pillar, Rukia pondered her situation. There was clearly no simple way to do this. Her hands couldn't get a grip, even if she could manage to ignore the numbness. No, she needed to think this through.

She turned to survey her surroundings. It was a frozen wasteland. There was nothing that she could see to use. It hadn't been so barren once. When she first came here, it had been a snow-covered forest. She hated seeing what her life as a Kuchiki had done to her mind.

Something in her thoughts caught her attention. This was her mind. She was in her own mind. That meant…

Rukia focused, visualizing a staircase winding about the pillar. Slowly, it coalesced into 'solid' form. She stepped onto the first of the glittering stairs of ice. It held. She sighed in relief, only to find herself on the ground as the staircase disappeared. 'I can't lose focus. I can't afford for the stairs to vanish when I'm halfway up.'

She reformed the stairs and began her climb. Thirty steps up, she felt the stairs begin to melt. She frowned, searching for the problem. Above, the sun was shining brightly, its light and heat melting her frozen creation. The palace itself seemed to ignore it, but her stairs were rapidly turning to liquid. She focused, trying to block out the sunlight. Nothing happened. She tried to create a wall of ice to protect the stairs, but her mindscape denied her. 'What…?'

Rukia tried again, but still to no avail. She thought to herself aloud, "Why isn't this working? It's _my_ mind. It should work. Then she realized it. "This isn't just my mindscape, it's my soulscape. I can't just create things through thought. I need reiryoku to affect this world. I'm just a human though. I need more reiryoku, but I'll just have to try my hardest."

Rukia focused all of her will on the stairs, attempting to consciously focus what little reiryoku she had. They regenerated a little. Next, she thinned them out and made them less detailed to conserve reiryoku. Then she began to climb again.

With each step, she felt more exhausted. Her scant reiryoku was fading fast, and she was not yet halfway to the top. She focused harder, trying to buy more time. She continued her ascent.

Several minutes later, she was about halfway there. The stairs were beginning to melt and she couldn't stop them any longer. 'If I fall from here…' Rukia shook off the worrying thought and returned her focus to the task at hand.

Time passed and Rukia was most of the way there. She had removed all the stairs beneath her and bought time, but the stairs were barely supporting her weight. She heard a cracking sound, and looked down. The stair she was on was beginning to crack!

She began running up the stairs, each step falling away behind her. She looked up. 'I can see it! Just a few more stairs and…!'

She stepped on the last stair, and it broke instantly. Rukia fell.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Sky-kun! Where are you Sky-kun?!" Yachiru had been looking around all day, but she couldn't find Sky-kun. Ken-chan had been looking bored all day, and Sky-kun was the only person he got to fight with. Yachiru wished he'd let her spar with him, but Ken-chan didn't like fighting her. Only the kitty would fight her…it had been so long…

Feeling a strong reiatsu, she ran towards it, "Sky-kun? Is that you?"

A voice spoke from behind her, "I'm afraid not."

Everything went black.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Rukia's eyes widened as she felt the stair give. Now free falling, she searched for a handhold. Nothing was there. She willed one to appear and nothing did. She was out of Reiryoku. She was going to die.

'I knew it would come eventually. I'm a Shinigami. Death is nothing to fear. I'm just going home. This is just my destiny…'

She looked down. The landscape was gone, replaced by a vast darkness. She closed her eyes, smiling in acceptance as it approached.

An image appeared her mind's eye. Brown eyes gazed at her from beneath orange hair. A determined gaze met hers. 'Ichigo…'

New thoughts flooded her mind, 'I'm not a Shinigami anymore! I'm human! I don't want to lose him! I don't want to die, not now that I finally have the chance to live! I don't care if this is my destiny, I WILL LIVE!"

Her eyes snapped open an instant before she hit the void beneath her. She slipped through soundlessly. She glared back at where she came, willing herself back. To her shock, she found a flood of strange reiatsu entering her. Her feet hit solid ground. Then she was flying upwards back into the sky, carried aboard a thin, rectangular, pitch black platform. The platform glowed deepest blue along its edges. She looked up, ferociously willing herself up to the palace above her.

The platform stopped at the doorway, which opened into thin air. Rukia stepped through the door.

As Rukia stepped inside the room, her eyes immediately fell on a beautiful young woman. She was sitting at the far end of the vast entrance hall. She sat upon a massive chair that could only be called one thing-a throne. Upon her head sat a tiara of ice. Rukia spoke, "Hello, Sode no Shiroyuki."

Her zanpakuto nodded at her coldly, and the world vanished.

::::::

Rukia opened her eyes. She stood at the bottom of the pit. She felt the reassuring weight of her Zanpakuto on her back, and stood clothed in her Shinigami garb. She had finally regained her powers.

Rukia looked up at the top of the shaft, and leapt out. She landed calmly. Ichigo was not there to welcome her.

She turned towards Urahara, who was now relaxing in a foldable chair with an umbrella-adorned drink. She did what any logical person would do.

She leaped at him with her Zanpakuto drawn, "Urahara!"

Kisuke barely threw himself from his chair in time. He sat up from his place on the ground, blinking at her. "Rukia? I'm glad to see you but…"

"Why the hell are you just sitting here when Ichigo's still in danger?!"

He shrugged, "It's not like I can do anything for him. He's on his own."

Rukia grimaced before walking to the second hole to watch Ichigo.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Time passed, and Ichigo remained at the bottom of the shaft. His eyes were closed as he struggled to meditate.

Rukia gasped as his soul chain began to encroach faster and faster. Her eyes glistened with tears as she saw a mask trying to form, she screamed, "ICHIGO!"

Tessai stepped up to the pit, and began using binding Kidou on Ichigo. Rukia could only watch in horror as a black light flooded the hole. Suddenly, it shot up towards the top. Tessai's kidou shattered as Ichigo landed, a mask on his face. Rukia smiled. He'd made it! She could tell that he was still under that mask. This was still Ichigo!

Then she did it. She ran up to the young Shinigami, and kissed him.

That was the moment everything changed.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sora watched the touching scene from afar. It was good to see those two finally figure it out. After a little while, the couple was interrupted by Kisuke. Sora couldn't tell what he was saying, so he glided unseen over to a closer boulder, listening in. "Well that was surprising. You're such a cute couple! Here's the thing though…I don't care. Whatever your personal issues are, training will go on as planned. Now, here's the next step. Ichigo needs to land a solid blow on me with his Zanpakuto. Good luck!"

And so, the battle began.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The battle ended as Ichigo finally landed a hit, wielding the power of his newly released Shikai in order to defeat Kisuke. As the proceedings advanced and Kisuke started to propose a multi-day battle training method, as opposed to actually teaching Ichigo and Rukia something, Sora decided to step in. Drawing upon the Lightning mana within him, he traveled to the point next to Kisuke as loose electricity and then regained physicality.

Ichigo reached for Zangetsu, but was stopped by a gesture from Kisuke, "I didn't expect you to actually make an appearance. What seems to be the problem?" Kisuke was clearly being serious for once, his eyes shadowed by the brim of his hat. Sora rolled his eyes at the former Captain, "What's my problem? My problem is that you intend to send those two-and the others-to fight Captain and Lieutenant level Shinigami with nothing more than Shikai and limited Kidou. They Captains will eat them alive. I'm not going to just watch while you doom these two."

Ichigo lost it at that, "WHAT! How dare you! I'm strong enough to deal with-!"

Sora just sighed, "No Ichigo, you aren't. There is no way for a normal Shinigami with Shikai to defeat someone with Bankai. That's just how it is."

Kisuke fanned himself, looking exasperated, "Well, what am I supposed to do? I can't teach him Bankai-so what?"

"You could teach them Bankai."

"I just said-"

Their voices were slowly be raised as they argued, "I know what you said! I also know that you can teach someone Bankai in three days!'

Rukia's eyes widened comically, "Three days?! This is Bankai!"

Kisuke nodded slowly, "Fine, but I don't think they're ready."

"It doesn't matter. It's better for them to risk the dangers of Bankai training rather than have to fight Captains with Shikai."

Kisuke relented and sent Tessai for the Bankai cutouts.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
Several days later…

Ichigo stood before Urahara, still showing signs of injury from his training. Rukia stands beside him, looking no better. The rest of the group slowly files into the basement. Uryuu walks in with a strange glove on his hand and what appears to be a sword hilt strapped to his hip. He smirks at Ichigo.

Tatsuki smiles at Ichigo, her expression failing to conceal her grim mood, "Ichigo, Orihime send her best. Seeing as we can only barely bring six people, I asked her to stay here. She'll be safer that way." Ichigo nods.

Last is Sado, who simply grunts and nods at Ichigo.

Ichigo had been ready for their arrival-apparently that Sora guy was more willing to reveal information than Urahara.

A cat sits nearby and it begins to speak, "My name is Yoruichi. I will be your guide once we reach Soul Society. For now, we must pass through the Senkaimon. Be ready, we only have 4 minutes."

Sora, who Ichigo now notices atop a rocky outcropping, smiles at the group, "I'll be over there too, so I can step in if I have no other choice. Remember though, I need to avoid helping you if at all possible. If my cover gets blown, then we've got no inside contacts. That means no scouting, no help, and nowhere to run."

Rukia spoke up, "Actually…I had a student by the name of Kairi. She might be willing to help."

Sora sighed, "Unfortunately, Kairi isn't in a position to do so. I did a little scouting earlier. Kairi was recruited into the Kidou Corps; which is-as you know-controlled by Aizen himself.

Competely missing the fact that Sora new Kairi and the girl's imminent danger, Rukia stiffened, "Kairi graduated!? When?"

"About two weeks ago."

Rukia's face dropped, a sigh escaping her lips. 'Damn it Kairi! How dare you graduate! I can't believe I lost…'

The others watched, confused, as Rukia sulked over the lost bet. After a moment, everyone seemed to remember what was going on.

Ichigo looked to Rukia for a moment, "Are you sure you want to go? I mean, you just got them to leave you alone."

"Of course! I'll stay behind and let you run off and die!" Sarcasm dripped from Rukia's words, leaving her decision rather obvious to all.

Ichigo sighed, "Fine then." A slightly insane looking smile overtook his face, "I'll just have to be ready to cut them apart." A slight laugh issued from his lips before he caught himself.

Kisuke spoke up, "As…err…touching….as this is, we don't have time to waste. Is everyone ready?" A flurry of affirmatives followed and he opened the portal. "Go!

Sora stepped through a dark portal to rendezvous with the others on the other side.

:::

Sora watched the group emerge from the Senkaimon into the area of rukongai adjacent to the West Gate. As the portal ripped open, he heard Rukia casting a Kidou, "DANKU!"

The group was propelled out of the portal. The pressure wave from the collision between the barrier and-presumably-the cleaner created a slight breeze, ruffling his hair. The group landed in a disorganized pile.

After everyone had struggled to their feet, each brushing off the dust from the ground, Yoruichi addressed the group. "We need to enter Seiretei itself if we hope to eliminate the traitor. This is the Western Gate-" Ichigo interrupted, "What gate? Looks like we can just walk in!" He began heading for the seemingly unprotected Seireitei, only to be stopped as the wall descended down upon them from above. Yoruichi smacked its forehead with a paw, its deep voice conveying great exasperation, "Did you really think that would work? Seiretei is almost impossible to break into. I have a friend who might be able to help."

The cat's words fell on deaf ears, however, as Ichigo headed for the gate. Yoruichi growled at the substitute Shinigami as he arrived at the gate and challenged Jidanbou. The guardian of the gate was roughly thirty feet tall. He was heavily muscled and carried a pair of massive hatchets.

Needless to say, Ichigo won with ease.

Jidanbou moved to open the gate, only to be stopped as Sora appeared next to him, "What are you doing Jidanbou?"

The giant was confused by this, "I'm opening the gate. They won, so…"

Sora just shook his head, "You're the guardian of the gate, not the doorman. Even if you lose, the gate should still remain closed. Just be glad I stopped you. Gin's waiting on the other side."

The giant paled rapidly and released the gate. The dust from the impact blinded those watching long enough for Sora to carry the soon-to-be ryoka away via a Warp spell.

Yoruichi grabbed Ichigo's ankle and dragged him towards the home of its friend Kuukaku. The rest of the group followed behind. Rukia just looked mortified-her …whatever Ichigo was to her…was making a complete fool of himself. She sighed, 'I wonder how Kairi is doing…'

:::::::::::::::::::::

Kairi was doing great. Aizen-taicho had been teaching her new Kidou. She hadn't even heard of most of them. He had even taught her some of his own personal Kidou. They were ones he had written himself. He was the perfect Captain for her.

Today he was showing her around Seireitei. He apparently wanted to introduce her to the other Taicho's.

Kairi hated to take advantage of his kindness, but it was the perfect opportunity to question them. She needed to find the traitor soon. They'd been here for far too long already. 'If we don't move on soon, then Leon and the others…'

Kairi shook off that thought as they approached the Third Division headquarters.

She stiffened, and noticed that Aizen had as well. It seemed he wasn't quite as calm as he seemed. Kairi turned, taking in his forced smile as her gazed passed over him. He was good-very good. If she wasn't so paranoid these days, she would have missed it.

Her gaze stilled as it reached the source of the footsteps. She nodded at the approaching individual, "Hinamori-san." She wasn't terribly fond of the Fifth division lieutenant. Kairi admired Aizen. Hinamori worshiped him. Besides that, she seemed to have a grudge against Kairi. Kairi knew that it was simple jealousy over Aizen's attention, but it was still frustrating.

Aizen himself smiled kindly at the girl, "What bring you here, Hinamori?"

"I heard you were introducing Kairi to the other Captains. Would you mind if I come, Aizen-taicho?

Aizen shook his head gently, "I'm afraid that I've already informed them exactly who will be coming by. It would be rude to change that now. I'm sorry Hinamori."

The girl seemed to deflate a little, and Kairi felt a tinge of pity. It faded rapidly as the girl threw a glare at her.

Aizen sighed, "I'll see you at the barracks Hinamori. I'm truly sorry." He turned towards Kairi, "Let's go. We shouldn't keep Gin waiting." Kairi nodded.

They eventually reached the Third Division Captain's office. Gin nodded at them, his typical Fox-like expression hiding all emotion. Kairi couldn't help being suspicious of the man. No one else hid so much.

She tapped into her mana supply, keeping it ready. It didn't hurt to be careful.

Gin spoke, "So, you're the girl I've heard so much about. A kidou prodigy…" He turned his gaze upon Aizen, "Very convenient."

For a moment Kairi saw a strange glimmer in Aizen's eye, but dismissed it as a trick of the light. Aizen spoke, "Kairi, would you excuse us for a moment. We need to discuss something private." She nodded calmly and stepped out onto the front step. She then muttered a short spell, "Audite Totus."

Aizen and Gin's whispers were suddenly audible. Gin was speaking, "…sure she's safe? What if he knows?" "The King wouldn't send an untrained child. No, all is well with Kairi."

Kairi's eyes widened in shock, 'Aizen-taicho is the traitor. Aizen-taicho…' She sighed with melancholy. She had finally found someone to teach her…and now she had to turn him in. Her ears caught onto something new.

Aizen was speaking again, "The Hogyoku is on its way. Rukia is here, in Soul Society. Once she enters Seireitei we can take it from her. Then it will be time for our departure."

Gin's voice hissed a question, "When? How long do we have?"

"Six hours. She will enter Seiretei today. Then we just have to retrieve the Hogyoku from inside of her."

Kairi's mind rushed back to the files Xine had given her. She needed to return with proof. There was no way to prove what she had just heard. Memories could be falsified. 'How am I supposed to find proof in six hours?'

An idea leapt into the forefront of her mind. She steeled herself and entered the room.

She looked her Captain in the eye as he spoke, "Is something wrong Kairi?"

She took a deep breath. She spoke, "I'm sorry Aizen-taicho. Rikujokoro (Six Bars of Light)." The shining Bakudo slammed into her Captain, holding him in place for a moment. Gin's sword was rising to point at her as she cast her next spell, "Haien." A burst of shining purple flame struck the Third Division Captain in the chest. His Reiatsu took the hit well, and he was only thrown backwards. A slight burn was visible beneath a charred hole in his uniform.

Aizen flexed his reiatsu, shattering her Bakudo effortlessly, he sighed, "Kairi, why did it have to be you? Why couldn't have it been Hinamori?"

Kairi looked at him incredulously, "Hinamori? You think she would have ever caught on?"

He laughed, "No, I suppose not." His eyes grew steely, "Now, I'm afraid I have to kill you Kairi. I…will regret that."

She nodded, "Likewise." She gestured, "Hado #90, Kurohitsugi." The Black Coffin formed around Aizen, whose eyes had widened greatly. She cast again, "Hado #63, Raikoho." A torrent of golden lightning leapt from her hand, plunging into the core of the Coffin, just as it began to fade. Aizen took the hit directly. It was followed by a pair of Byakuyarai bolts-one leaping from each of Kairi's hands.

Aizen fell to his knees, his body bleeding badly.

Kairi grimaced, drawing her Zanpakuto to finish the job. She brought it down towards his throat.

He caught it. "You should have kept casting. You were actually winning." He closed his hand, shattering the Zanpakuto's blade.

Kairi leapt backwards, resheathing her Zanpakuto-it would regenerate in time.

She gestured again, this time using something less local, "Firaga! Blizzaga! Thundaga! Graviga! Waterga! Holy!"

Aizen gestured, extending both arms outwards from his sides. A shining barrier appeared, holding the barrage of elemental energy with minimal difficulty. He vanished, reappearing to strike the back of Kairi's neck. She collapsed into unconsciousness.

::::::::::::::::::

Aizen looked down at the girl. Kyoko Suigetsu was already descending towards her throat. It was over.

'But…'

His sword stopped.

'I don't want to kill her.'

She was valuable. She was the only person skilled enough that he could trust her with the preservation of The Kidou.

She was also…pleasant. He couldn't help but have a fondness for the girl. He truly cared for this student of his, this protégé.

He didn't feel as lonely with her around.

::::::::::::::::::::

Ichigo's cannonball dissolved on impact. With him were Rukia, Yoruichi, and Uryuu, who had managed to keep their portions of the cannonball stable. Sado and Tatsuki hadn't been so lucky. Yoruichi had barely stopped her friend Kuukaku from sending her little brother along.

Unfortunately, they still had to be shot out of a cannon to get into Seireitei. That wasn't fun.

Apparently, they needed to meet with a contact within the Gotei Thirteen. He was a man by the name of Toushirou Hitsugaya.

Rukia reached down to help Ichigo up. He gratefully took her hand. He was eager to get out of the dust cloud. Her skin was soft, a mark of her noble upbringing and preference for Kidou. Not that Ichigo was thinking about the reasons for the softness of her skin-he was paying more attention to the texture of it.

Ichigo snapped out of his daze to ask her a question, "So, where are we supposed to find this Shiro guy anyway?"

Rukia flinched, "Don't call him that. Hitsugaya-taicho is Hitsugaya-taicho. No nicknames. It doesn't end well."

"That scary?" Rukia just nodded.

Ichigo sighed. Hopefully he wouldn't have to fight this tough guy. He'd stand a chance, but…

:::::::::::::::

Squad 10 Barracks

"Hey kid, I'm looking for Hitsugaya-taicho. Is he around?"

Rukia whispered in his ear, "Ichigo…that _is_ Hitsugaya-taicho."

_One shouting match later…_

Toushirou Hitsugaya, the youngest Captain of the Gotei 13 (and showing it) glared at the 'human' in front of him, but spoke calmly, "Setting this…discussion…aside for later, I believe that you came here to assassinate the traitor, Sosuke Aizen?"

Ichigo nods, "Yeah. That bastard already sicced a hollow on us-a Vasto Lorde."

Hitsugaya scoffs, "_That _is impossible. We would have detected anything of that level. Besides, there would have been mass destruction. We _would have known._"

Rukia surprises herself as she responds, "Your _corrupt _organization, which has been _infiltrated, _would have known? I've lived here my whole life, and even I'm not that naïve."

Hitsugaya cringes almost imperceptibly, looking at Rukia out of the corner of his eye, "You're not acting like yourself, Kuchiki-san. What happened to you?"

Rukia smiles, "I got rid of that name, for one thing. No more forced decorum from me. I'm just Rukia, and I don't have to fall in line with the Kuchiki house's opinions."

Hitsugaya actually smiles, "I'm happy for you, Rukia-san."

His face grows stony as he hands her a folder, "Now, on to business. Here is all the information I have on Aizen. Just so you know…it's probably all wrong."

He reached into one of his desk drawers, withdrawing something, "I can, however, offer you some other help."

He placed a badge on the table in front of him. It was a simple diamond, marked with the kanji for "10." Hitsugaya explained, "This indicates that you're acting on my orders. No normal member of the Gotei 13 will interfere with your actions if you wear this.

"You'll still need to worry about Lieutenants and Captains, however. Furthermore, if someone challenges me about it, I will have to claim that it is a fake. It should, however, be of use for a time. I wish you the best of luck against Aizen. If you fail, his elimination falls to me."

The group nods, and begins to head for the exit, but the Captain speaks one last time, "Use the trapdoor under the doormat. It leads to the sewers. You should head for Division 5 barracks-Aizen will return there eventually."

Ichigo nodded, and dropped down into the sewers as Uryuu lifted the trap door.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

**Yes, I'm back from the dead...again. I'm considering just declaring this story Undead and leaving it at that. I _do _intend to update more often in the future, but...well, I have failed in my past endeavors to do so. For now, enjoy part 2 of 3 of the Bleach Arc. 3 will be released in the near or distant future, but you've waited long enough as it is.**

**One large announcement, however, is necessary. Reviewing earlier chapters, and playing the various KH games that have been released since this was planned out (KH2 Era-358/2 Days and Birth by Sleep were known from preview videos) has caused me to realize that this story needs to be repaired some. Recent plot and world changes in Canon have heavily disrupted my designs. Besides that, my capabilities as a writer have grown substantially. Therefore, I will be releasing updated versions of each chapter over time. These will be posted as a new story: Kingdom Hearts RE: The Nymph's Blade. There won't be severe plot changes, but it will integrate information from the more recent games-among many small tweaks.**

**The prologue should be released soon. Don't worry, however. I plan to release at least 6-3 here before dropping this version of the story. Maybe more, we'll see.**


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